Uncle Harry
by JRush
Summary: This is NOT CANNON... It is a Harry/Lash story following Angels Among us, and V for Vengeance. Consider this an alternate timeline/universe. Please enjoy and feel free to comment/review.
1. Chapter 1

"Uncle Harry"

_**NOTE:**__ This is not a cannon story, it's one of my own that follows V for Vengeance. This is an attempt to further the adventures of Harry and Lash, as many have asked for another story. Here she is back and healthy now._

"Hey... Um... Mister?" came the soft small voice as I trudged down the cold, blustery city street. I stopped, pulling my collar up against the crisp and frosty October breeze. Turning towards the line of monolithic towers that fill downtown, I saw her. She was a small pale thing, her cheeks and nose red from the cold as she huddled between a garbage can and a newspaper box. Her dirty brown hair was matted against her face and her clothes were not in much better shape, as she shivered squatting down trying to find shelter from the wind. She looked up at me with clear bright green eyes, while the rest of her face a forlorn look about her.

"Could you please spare seventy five cents, please?" She asked, her arms wrapped around her body trying in vain to retain some body heat. "The lady at the cafe said I could stay for an hour if I order a hot chocolate..." she said, her voice trailing off, lost in the traffic noise and hustle bustle of the city street.

I felt my heart burn with anger as it broke in two, seeing the nine or ten year old girl sitting by the side of the street, being passed by the crowd as just another piece of garbage blowing through the city. I reached my hand out to her and tried to smile as best I could.

"How about I throw in a burger and some fries with the hot chocolate?" I asked taking her tiny pale hand in mine. Even through my leather gloves I felt the icy cold of her fingers in mine. She gave me a bright but weary smile as she slowly stood up and followed me down to the cafe.

The warm air rushed against us, smelling of hot oil, fried meat and stale coffee as we entered the small cafe. The heavyset waitress smiled over her shoulder at the little girl as we walked in.

"Seat yourself, I'll be over to take your order in a minute." She said hefting a try full of the blue plate special and drinks to her shoulder and bustled off to another table.

We found a corner, u shaped booth and she slipped in quietly, rubbing her tiny pale hands together as I pulled off my duster and folded it in half tossing it between us before sitting down at the table.

"Order whatever you want, it's on me." I said leafing through the slick, plastic coved menu, thick with grease and coffee stains and a little sticky. The girl timidly held her menu in front of her hiding her face as she looked at the options available. Still stiff and unsure as she looked through the menu, I had to smile to myself. I couldn't blame her for being weary of me. Who knows what kind of creeps had talked to her in the past. I didn't know and knew that for my blood pressures sake I'd do well to not try to imagine such things.

"Um... Thank you mister..." she finally said, still hiding behind her menu. Her voice was barely audible over the chatter and clinking of plates. She sounded relieved and scared at the same time. Her fingers were starting to turn pink as circulation began to return to them, now that she was in from the cold.

"You can call me Harry, and you're very welcome...? Miss?" I prompted her, hoping she'd offer her name.

"Okay then, thank you Harry." she said, still hidden behind the glare of the menu. I sighed, knowing it'd take a lot of time for her to trust me and decided to call in reinforcemts.

"If the waitress comes back, order me a coffee and an order of fries and whatever you want as well. I'll be right back." I told her slipping out of the seat, leaving my duster behind. I saw the top of her matted hair move as she nodded her head. I made my way down towards the bathroom and made a couple of short phone calls at the pay phone before returning to the table.

When I arrived at the table and slipped into my seat, a hot cup of coffee, a glass container full of sugar and a small pitcher of cream waited for me. In front of the girl was a half empty cup of hot chocolate, the remnants of the whipped cream adorned the tip of her nose and cheeks. She smiled shyly at me over the cup, her cheeks now a more healthy pink color as she sipped the sweet hot liquid.

"Miss, we'll need another chocolate here when you get a second." I told the waitress as she lumbered past us again with a try full of steak and pasta dishes.

"Sure thing sweetie, give me a minute though." she replied cheerfully. The girls eyes widened in joy but she remained silent as I started emptying a good portion of the cream and sugar into my cup.

"That's a lot of sugar." she said finally as I began to stir the heavenly brown concoction in my cup.

"That's a lot of whipped cream." I replied giving her a wink and glancing at her cheeks. She blushed slightly and wiped her face with her napkin, removing more dirt and grime than whipped cream. She looked at the napkin and quickly hid it in her lap.

"How long have you been on the streets?" I asked nonchalantly.

"A couple of days." she replied staring at her cup.

"Did you run away from home?" I asked sipping my coffee, the hot earthy bitterness mixed with the cream and sugar sending waves of happiness through my soul.

"I don't have a home. I was sent to a girls school when my parents died." she said, her voice quivering, barely audible now.

Another cup of hot chocolate with a ridiculous amount of whipped cream and sprinkles slid next to her current, nearly empty cup before a large plate with a hamburger and side order of mac and cheese clinked down onto the table in front of her. Then a large plate of thick cut French fries slid in front of me as the portly waiters smelling of bacon and cigarette smoke smiles at us. Her cheeks were pink and chubby but she still had a bit of her youthful girl next-door beauty about her as she set down the catsup and tartar sauce in front of my plate.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked brightly, giving the girl a wink on the sly.

"We'll probably need some pie later, but for now I think we're good. Oh and there may be another person joining us." I said.

"Just holler when you're ready sweetie." she said tearing the check from her order pad and setting it down on the table before turning and hurrying back to the counter for her next tray full of greasy goodness.

The girl flinched when I mentioned another person joining us. When the waitress was out of ear shot she looked up at me worriedly.

"Are you going to turn me over to the police or make me go back?" she asked, her voice quivering and her eyes glistening, threatening to spill sad tears based on my answer.

"I didn't call the police and depending on your reason for leaving you may need to go back." I said honestly. "But let's not let that ruin our meal, we can figure that out later. Eat up kiddo." I said dunking one of my warm, salty planks of rough cut, deep fried potato into the tartar sauce before biting it in half.

"Okay..." she said not fully satisfied with my answer but accepting it as she picked up her spoon to taste the mac and cheese. Her face brightened as she took a bite, then another and another in quick succession. It would seem she hadn't eaten recently seeing how the bowl of cheesy goodness vanished quickly.

"I can't BELIVE YOU!" Came the soft lilting voice over my shoulder. "I send you to the store for a few basic things and here I find you with none of the shopping done, dining with a beautiful, younger woman." Lash said as she slipped into the booth next to me, giving me a playful smile and a kiss on the cheek, before turning to the girl with a wide smile. "He hasn't tried to ask you out on a date or anything did he?" She asked with mock shock, giving me a light punch on the shoulder.

"No... He's been nice." the girl said shyly giggling and then giving Lash a warm smile.

I could feel her silky blond hair against my cheek as she leaned her head against my shoulder, the lavender fragrance of her shampoo with the light floral scent of her perfume tickling my nose. She hugged my arm with one hand and reached out with the other to the small girl sitting across from me.

"I'm Lash, this big lummox's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." She said with a perky smile. The florescent light from the diner glimmering off her cherry red nails emphasized her long sender fingers and arm as she shook hands with the young girl.

"I'm Simone." The girl said grinning shyly, her small hand in Lash's.

"It's nice to meet you Simone. Do you eat here often?" she said picking up a menu from the table and leafing through it half interested, like a fashion magazine.

"Sometime, they're nice here." Simone said sheepishly, taking smaller bites of her hamburger now and actually chewing it.

"Hmmm, that looks good. Would you recommend the burgers then?" Lash asked, setting aside the menu and stealing one of my fries. The fry crunched softly as she took a bite, the morsel disappearing between her glossy pink lips.

"Yes, the burger are good here. So is the Spaghetti and meat balls... I haven't tried much else. The waitress snuck me the spaghetti last night when she got off work..." Simone said, her voice getting softer and more timid towards the end. She seemed embarrassed or ashamed of her plight as she spoke. Then a sweet smile flashed across her face, remembering the waitress's kindness.

"Spaghetti you say... I haven't had a good spaghetti in centu... ages.." Lash caught herself, giving Simone a dazzling smile.

"Waitress, one Spaghetti and meat balls with a side of garlic bread and a small house salad." I barked at the waitress as she bustled by. She looked back and nodded happily, not missing a step as she moved quickly to the next table.

Lash gave me a raised eyebrow and a slight, seemingly happy smile, then turned back to Simone. "So, what's a pretty girl like you doing hanging out with a guy like this?" Lash asked teasingly, poking me in the chest with her thumb.

"Well, I asked for Seventy-five cents and we ended up in here." She said, looking down at her cut seeming a little embarrassed.

"hmm Seventy-five cents huh? Did you lose your purse?" Lash asked in a softer more concerned tone.

"Something like that..." Simone replied over her cup of chocolate.

"She left her boarding school in a hurry it seems." I told Lash quietly, nodding to Simone.

"Oh, I see." Lash said seriously, giving Simone an appraising look, that I suspected had more to it than a normal once over. "Something happened at school didn't it? Something that scared you?" Lash asked softly, her eyes kind but concerned.

"Yes..." Simone admitted quietly setting her cup down. "But nobody would believe me and some of the other girls started to make fun of me. Then... something bad happened and I ran away." Simone said, fear and tears welling up in her eyes.

Lash gave her a concerned look and then sighed. "Well, it seems like you're in a bit of a bind. Although I'm sure a girl like you could handle it yourself, this guy here kind of specializes in problems others don't believe in. He may not look it but he's a pretty responsible and handy guy. So how about tonight you come back with us and you can tell us all about it later. Then we can look into it tomorrow?" Lash said reaching over and putting her hand on Simone's.

"I don't know..." Simone started, her face hesitant as she looked from me to Lash.

"There's a warm bath and soft bed in it for you if you do. That and we can get you a change of clothes while we wash those." Lash said with a hopeful smile. "I wanted to go shopping today anyway! Do you want to go with me?"

The offer of a warm bath seemed to be the deciding factor, and Simone gave us a nod before taking another bite of her disappearing burger.

One thing about being a wizard is you live for a very long time. I'm still considered very young in the eyes of the older wizards, who live for many centuries, if nothing happens to shorten their life span unnaturally. Fallen Angles on the other hand have been around since, basically, the dawn of time. So in comparison they are an Ancient people. Lash, is something of a hybrid. Having been a fallen angel's shadow, who was given a body by a particularly troublesome arch angel that felt she showed 'promise'. She not only has her wizard powers but also the memory the Fallen one. This gives her a long history to draw from and a different perspective on life than others. It also means she was around when fortunes were created and lost, throughout history. By lost I mean swallowed up by the desert, sunk off the coast of Central America, lost as in misplaced not squandered. Given her years of research and practice as a wizard and her, literally eons, worth of memories, she's formidable in many respects.

After moving in with me, we lived happily in my tiny apartment in the basement of a small building. That is, until things became too dangerous for us to remain there, given the kindly but elderly land lady and inhabitants of the other apartments. When ghouls and an insane warlock laid siege to my apartment we decided it was time to move to some place where there would be less collateral damage. That's when Lash took a week off and disappeared to go on a little scavenger hunt. She returned with a few paintings and a few pirate-ish looking boxes of gold and jewels. Lash made a deal to keep her anonymous while the auction house sold the lost masters paintings and antique artifacts from Central and South America from about the time of the Spanish 'exploration' of the area. Although I never asked how much money she made off her little trip, I do know it was enough to buy us a nice, smallish, two bedroom two bath home with a full basement and two car garage, a few blocks away from the Carpenters home.

Although I've always had simple tastes, Lash is a little more like my brother when it comes to living space. Even though she never once complained about my small apartment, when we were ready to move, she had the kitchen, both bedrooms and bathrooms redone before we moved in. That and new carpet/flooring and a new coat of paint inside and out. Michael Carpenter and his crew did most of the work for us and he recommended people for the things he didn't do. Lash had them add closet space and had the bathroom done in more of a traditional Japanese style bath. The guest bath on the other hand is more European with a claw foot bath tub with a shower head. She replaced my small twin bed with a large queen sized rake bed and added a lot of warm soft pillows and comforters. Since she has good taste and is willing to put in the work to make the hose comfortable for us both, I didn't complain. Especially since the garage and basement are my domain, where she may come in from time to time to mix a potion or research something but she never tries to organize or move things around. So we found a happy balance in the end.

We finished our meals and I left a thirty percent tip for the waitress and we headed out into the cold evening. I headed to the shops that cater to the more arcane denizens of Chicago while Simone and Lash headed for a department store and then a grocery store before meeting me at my classic, cherry red F150 pickup truck. It was a birthday gift from my brother the last time the Blue Beetle was mangled by something particularly ugly.

We slid into the truck, Simone sitting between Lash and I. Simone leaned against Lash as the truck roared to life and growled happily as we pulled slowly onto the city street. We weren't half way home when Lash tapped me on the shoulder and smiled, Simone was curled up with her head in Lash's lap, snoozing quietly. Lash's ice blue eyes smiled happily and flashed in the passing street lights as she softly laid her hand on the young girls head. The shadows quickly slipped into and out of the cab of the truck as the street lights slipped by like quiet sentinels watching the city.

Then, with a serious look she said softly, "Harry, I don't know what she's gotten herself into but I can tell you that when she was talking about her school, I could feel her fear. I can't say for sure, but I get a feeling of residual magic from her. More like she's been around something magical and powerful than that she's been the target of magic." Lash said shaking her head, unable to put her feelings into words.

"We can ask her about it when we get home, or in the morning if you'd rather." I said softly wondering how someone so young could end up in such a situation.

"Tonight after her bath. She's Definitely taking a bath..." Lash said tugging at her dirty clothes and making a sad, concerned face.

"You handle bath duty and I'll handle the ice cream when you're done." I said with a smile. It seems nothing is better for soothing a girls nerves than chocolate ice cream, no matter how old the girl is.

Lash just smiled and watched Simone sleep as we rumbled through the city and into the suburban tree lined streets and eventually pulled into the driveway, letting the engine purr for a few seconds before turning it off.

As I got to the door, I released the wards and charms that guarded our home and the lock clicked open with a solid clunk as the heavy bolt moved back into the door. I opened the door to be met by a hit to the back of my legs as the thirty pound cat bounced into my legs as a greeting before quickly darting into the house. As Mister shot into the house, Mouse shot out nuzzling my thigh as I was catching my balance. I reached down and scratched his cheek.

"We've got company, buddy. I want you to keep an eye on her while she's here okay?" I said softly as we headed back to the truck. I grabbed the bags from the back of the truck as Lash and mouse gently roused Simone and lead her into the house.

When I came inside I found Simone and Mouse sitting on the floor, Mouse licking her face while she hugged him happily, giggling and hiding her face in his fur.

"I see you've made a friend." I said to them both, kicking the door closed and heading for the kitchen.

"He's So Furry!" Simone squealed, laughing as Mouse gave her wet doggy kisses.

"He's a good boy. Just don't get him too excited or he won't want to sleep tonight." I told her as i passed them and started setting bags on the kitchen table.

Lash came out of the laundry room with an arm full of pink bedding and big fluffy pillows, that I didn't know we had and made her way into the spare bedroom.

"Harry would you draw a bath in the master bathroom for me while I make up the spare room?" Lash called from the spare room. Her voice muffled while she put new pillow cases on the big down pillows.

"Um.. Sure." I called back. Still not used to a bath made for a small group. I made my way back to the master bath and started drawing the water, checking the temperature to make sure it wasn't too hot.

"Wow, I've never seen a bath like that..." Simone said from the door to the bath area.

"Neither did I until a few months ago. It's nice though." I said watching the large tub starting to fill. "It's a Japanese bath. You wash off in the shower here, then soak in the tub. It seemed weird to me at first but it's really relaxing." I said turning to Simone, sitting on the edge of the bamboo enclosure.

"But why does it have to be so big?" Simone asked curiously

"I hear that in Japan, sometimes whole families bath together." I said scratching my head, noticing the worried look on Simone's face.

"Don't worry though, I'm not going to... I mean I wouldn't..." I said caught in the skeptical glare of the young girl.

"It's just going to be US GIRLS!" Lash said stepping up beside Simone and her a bright smile. "I love this bath and I think you'll like it too."

Simone's face brightened and Lash took her hand and lead her back to the living room, until the bath was ready.

I took a quick shower in the extra bathroom as the girls bathed leisurely. I slipped into my PJ's and a robe and was about to drift off with Mouse's head in my lap on the overstuffed leather couch, when the girls made their way into the living room. Lash was wearing her black satin robe that stopped mid thigh and Simone was wearing a long, pastel pink night gown and a white terry cloth robe. Both girls had their heads wrapped in large fluffy white cotton towels as they made their way into the living room and sat on the matching love seat.

"And that's why the forty-seven ronin really attacked the shogun." Lash said as they sat down. Simone's eyes were wide and sparkling as she eagerly listened to Lash's story.

"So he and his advisor were really monsters?" Simone asked amazed.

"Well they were letting evil spirits live inside them, to use their power." Lash said, trying to explain without going into too much detail.

"That's amazing." Simone cooed looking admiringly at Lash.

Lash smiled back happily, "It's all true, I promise!" Lash said raising her right hand. "So now that you know about that. Do you think you can tell us about what happened to you?" Lash asked becoming more serious.

Simone's smile disappeared and at first she looked hesitant, looking at me then Lash. She took a deep breath and turned to Lash. "Well, it started about two weeks ago. Jenni, my roommate at school, she started being tired all the time." Simone said softly looking up nervously at Lash.

"It's okay Simone, nobody's going to make fun of you or not believe you. Just be honest and tell us what happened." Lash said calmly, taking Simone's hand in hers.

I could feel a small rush of magic as the room became warmer, calmer and more comfortable. Lash's eyes sparkled, nearly glowing as I felt a gentle wave of relaxation and wellbeing wash through the room.

"A few nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Jenni sleep walking. I've never seen her do that before and we've lived together for two years." Simone said sounding more at ease and earnest. "So I followed her. You're not supposed to wake up a sleep walker, so I followed her." she said starting to cling to Lash's hand.

"Well, she went downstairs, past the kitchen to the storage rooms and opened a door to some more stairs going to the basement. I followed her to a room at the end of an old stone hallway. It was a big circular room with big chairs set in a circle. There were other girls there too, most of them older than us. I stopped and watched as Jenni walked over to one of the chairs and sat down." Simone said starting to become visibly shaken. "Then the chairs started to hum, kind of. It's hard to explain but I could feel it in my bones. Then as all the girls sat there a line of light went from their chairs to the center of the circle and made a pool of light. Someone walked into the circle and had a golden rod that they waved and chanted over the light and that's when I saw it... The monster... It was big and scary... I couldn't help myself and I screamed.." She said becoming nearly frantic, looking up at Lash with pleading eyes and wringing her hands.

"It's okay Simone, what happened next?" Lash asked, giving me a concerned look.

"They saw me... So I turned and ran upstairs and hid in my neighbors closet... I heard someone go to my room and toss stuff around then left, saying 'she couldn't have gone far, go find her!'. I was so scared.. I couldn't move and fell asleep in the closet. The next morning I woke up and snuck into my room and got dressed. When everyone went down stairs for breakfast I slipped out the back door and hid in the grocery truck until it left." Simone said her body trembling as silver tears leaked from her big green eyes.

"It's okay Simone, we believe you." Lash said, hugging her close and holding her as Simone sobbed against her chest. Lash gave me a knowing and worried look as she held the small girl.

I went into the kitchen quietly thinking over what I'd just heard. From what the girl said I surmised that someone was using the girls energy to summon something from the never never. Given her description of the 'monster' I wasn't sure what it was but I knew it wasn't good.

I brought in the three bowls of ice cream to a much calmer room. Mouse had his head in Simone's lap and Lash was talking to her softly with her arm around her as I came in.

"I know it's late but I thought this might brighten up the mood a little bit." I said handing a bowl to each of the ladies, then moving to the couch and sitting down.

"Thanks Harry. For dinner and everything..." Simone said giving me an honest if not shy smile.

"Damsels in distress is my specialty!" I said bowing my head to her.

"It really is..." Lash said with a wry smile.


	2. Chapter 2

"Uncle Harry"

Chapter 2

_**Authors Note:**__ I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read my story and hope you enjoy reading it as I do writing it! Please read and review, I appreciate your thoughts and opinions. _

** Disclaimer: The Dresden Files is copyright Jim Butcher. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons as derivative, noncommercial fiction.**

I woke up to the bed bouncing as if hit by a small car, and then furry, warm, wet doggy kisses as Mouse laid across my shoulder and chest. Having slept alone last night I guessed he felt I needed some extra attention. I hugged him and gave his neck and back a solid scratching only to have him roll over onto his back with his horse like legs sticking up in the air.

"Fine, you've been a very good boy." I told him as I proceeded to scratch his chest and rub his tummy, receiving happy moans and growls from the oversized pouch. I patted his chest and sat up, stretching and feeling revived as Mouse rolled over and then dashed out of the room. "Well someone's in a good mood." I thought to myself as the aroma of fresh coffee, bacon and toast wafted into the room.

"Good Morning..." came a timid voice from the door, the small girl was mostly hidden behind the mountain of fur that was pandering for more pets and attention. "Auntie Lash wanted me to tell you that breakfast is almost ready."

"Auntie?" I asked yawning and kicking my feet over the edge of the bed and rubbing my stubbly face.

"Well, I don't feel right calling grown-ups by their first name. So Lash suggested I call her auntie until I get older." She said timidly fidgeting with her hands and looking at the floor.

"So that would make me Uncle Harry then?" I said slipping my feet into my slippers. "I like it, that works for me. Tell Lash.. Auntie... that I'll be there in a few minutes" I said heading towards the large bathroom. The sinks and mirrors were on one side, a small room with the toilet across from the sinks and the bathing area separated by a wall and a sliding glass door. My tooth brush and razor were in a cup next to the sink that was designated as mine. Cotton hand towels hung from brass rings next to the sink. I opened the drawer and retrieved a tube of tooth paste and my shaving cream.

Simone, dressed in a white and blue frock, white tights and a pair of patent leather Mary Jane shoes, smiled at me from the door. "I'll tell her." She said brightly before dashing off to the kitchen, followed by Mouse, who was probably hoping for a piece of bacon or sausage to find its way to the floor.

Simone looked like a different person. Her light brown, shoulder length hair flying behind her as she ran happily down the hall. Although still shy and timid, she seemed to smile easily today. Maybe it was the bath and clean clothes or maybe it was just a warm house on a sunny morning that brings that out in children. Either way I was happy to see her smile honestly for the first time since I met her.

I finished with my morning grooming and closed the bedroom door. I changed into my jeans, boots and a flannel button up shirt and then headed into the kitchen.

As I entered the kitchen I was met with an aroma very similar to that of the Carpenter's kitchen, on the many mornings I had dined there in the past. I also smelled something distinctly cinnamon and sweet coming from the oven. I stopped to peek inside but was pulled aside by Lash.

"It's not done yet, you'll have to wait." She said with a teasing smile and then gave me a soft quick morning kiss.

"Ewww..." Simone groaned from the kitchen, holding a serving plate in both hands as she made her way towards the table. Once again giving me flash backs to the Carpenter's home. Once again, making me smile to see her acting more like an average kid.

"No comments from the peanut gallery." I snorted towards our guest, then catching Lash around the waist, pulled her close and returned the favor, only much slower this time.

"Harry... There's a child present." Lash said softly, her pink soft lips still next to mine. I could feel the warmth of her breath on my cheek and smell the musky scent of her body wash as she halfheartedly protested. I felt her arms wrap around my neck and her body melt against mine as she looked into my eyes smiling. "We don't want to teach her bad things." She said and hugged me tight, then gave me a peck on the cheek, wiping the lipstick off with her thumb before turning and heading back to the counter, her hips swaying as she walked and her steps bouncy.

Simone rushed to Lash's side and happily chatted, asking questions as Lash finished preparing our morning meal. I walked to the side of the counter and found my large coffee cup setting next to the hot pot of coffee. I grabbed the sugar bowl and milk from the oversized ice box. It was a large side by side refrigerator freezer that had been delivered defective to one of the Carpenter's job sites. I was able to purchase it for little more than the cost of hauling it away. Once at home Lash and I worked on enchanting each side to remain at a constant temperature, 37 for the fridge and 25 for the freezer. Aside from having to charge the charms every few weeks, it was working flawlessly. I was especially happy that although the cooling system was broken (and later removed) the lights still worked inside. What can I say, I'm easily amused.

I was about to put the milk back as Simone walked up to me and stopped a few feet away, looking at me shyly and yet expectantly. We regarded each other for a few seconds and she lifted the empty glass she was holding, looking at the bottle of milk, hesitantly.

"What coffee's not good enough for you?" I asked half jokingly.

"I'm a child, I'm not allowed to drink coffee yet." she said honestly, in her small voice, looking at her shiny shoes.

I chuckled and ruffled her hair with my free hand and gave her a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Fair enough. How about I bring it to the table with me?" I said diplomatically.

"Okay... Uncle Harry..." she said squirming away from my hand with a bit of a self-conscious smile on her face and headed to the table, with a floral table cloth hanging down a few inches on the sides. She set down her glass and looked back at Lash bringing over the last of the food, then slipped into the chair.

Once we had all sat down, Simone folded her hands in front of her and glanced at Lash and I expecting us to do the same. Now, it's not that I don't believe in God, but I've met some people that work for him so I'm still a little skeptical about him. Lash on the other hand is in a bit of a touchy situation being an Ex-fallen angel. Having read some manga that Molly, my apprentice, had left lying around I thought of a quick solution to this problem. I put my hands together and bowed my head and clearly said, "itadakimasu!"

Simone gave me a puzzled look and lash gave me a sly smile and graciously pressed her palms together, bowed her head, and repeated, "itadakimasu". Then she looked at Simone and explained, "It's like a prayer, it basically means Thank you for the food, in Japanese. It's giving thanks to the cook who made it, whoever bought it, the farmer who raised the food and the food itself." Simone smiled and tried her best to repeat it, getting it mostly right. Then she beamed at Lash, happy to have learned something new.

As we ate Simone and Lash talked cheerfully about things that they liked to do and places they wanted to visit. I sat mostly quietly listening to them chatting and enjoying the happy atmosphere, munching on the omelet, link sausage, bacon and whole wheat toast. Simone was carefully eating her breakfast, cutting the meat and omelet into proper bite size chunks and chewing it properly, much in contrast to how she ate last night. I can only assume she'd missed a few meals in the last few days. I was happy to see she was feeling more like herself.

About that time something sparkled in the backyard sending a rainbow of refracted light through the room. Simone smiles and watched as the light moved through the room and disappeared, looking out the back window, where the early morning light was shining on something just under the bushes in the backyard.

"That was pretty." She said with a bright smile as another flash of light bathed the room in multicolored light. "What is that?" she asked, seeing something shining brightly in the bushes.

"That's a fairy house." Lash said glancing out the window happily. "We have a few setup around the house, in case a fairy needs a place to stay for the night or a few days."

"Fairy's?" Simone asked, her eyes lighting up. "Real fairies? Can I see one?" She asked excitedly.

"Maybe." Lash said with a sweet smile. "But only if you're very good and promise to be on your best behavior." Lash said seriously. "They are very shy and you have to let them come to you. If you try to find or catch them, you'll scare them away."

"Then what should I do to get one to trust me?" Simone asked seriously, yet enthusiastically.

"Well, maybe if we leave some cinnamon rolls out for them?" Lash suggested.

"And maybe some tea?" Simone offered.

"They like Pizza better." I said frankly.

"Pizza?!" Simone said giggling.

"Hey, you'd be surprised." I said honestly.

"Tea would be a very good idea." Lash said ignoring me, with an earnest smile.

Lash knew that I had a relationship with the fairies and that I'd often order a large amount of pizza's that were left in the back yard but gone by morning. However, especially with young girls, sometimes the traditional ways are best. I'm sure she wanted this to be more magical than mundane for Simone and mixing this young girl up with the fae might not be the best of ideas. However, that didn't mean she couldn't believe in them and have a nice tea party. I knew Lash knew what most of the fae were like and even fairies could be dangerous, if you made a deal or accepted a gift from them. However, the fairies that lived around my house were of the dew drop or pixie variety and kept my house and yard safe from pests and warned me of predators in exchange for a frequent supply of pizza and a safe place to stay when they left the nevernever. It was an arrangement of convenience instead of a pact and any favors or gifts were carefully offset so as not to indebt either side.

I helped to clear the plates as the two continued to chat, Simone explaining who Tinkerbelle was that she had several movies out now and then went on to describe the plots of the movies. Meanwhile I gathered my staff, rod, shield bracelet and duster and headed for the garage.

"Lash, I'm going to go visit Thomas for a bit and then stop by to chat with Murphy." I said standing by the back door with the keys to the truck in hand.

"Don't you go flirting with the waitresses." She said giving me a teasing smile.

"Yes dear." I said in my best hen pecked voice, giving her a boyish smile as I slipped out the back.

It was still early so I hit some morning rush hour traffic on my way across town to my brothers club. For most of the time I'd know Thomas, he wasn't what you'd call an early riser. Since he opened his club White Lace, the trendiest club in town, he started keeping more businesslike hours. Meeting with vendors, doing the books and scheduling staff during the mornings and managing the club until one of his sisters showed up in the early evening to preside over the establishment.

I pulled into a spot in front, the lot still empty except for the white firebird parked in the spot with the sign 'Manager Only' in business like block letters, clearly set on a post in front of the spot. I smiled and slid out of the truck, the cool morning air giving me goose bumps and turning my breath to steam as I headed for the door.

"I'm sorry sir, we're not open yet. You'll have to come back later." The pretty woman in her early twenties said to me as she tried to wave me off. She was dressed in the standard uniform for this club, a white silk top and skirt, trimmed and embellished with white lace. Although she filled out the uniform quite properly and it did cover most of what it was supposed to, I couldn't help but think her father must be very worried.

"Beverly, it's okay. He's my brother." Thomas called from the door to his office, giving the fresh faced waitress a dazzling smile that made her blush all over. "He takes after his father." Thomas told her walking down the hall, his perfect hair bouncing with each step but never moving out of place. He stepped close and slapped me on the back a little harder than was necessary dismissing his staffer.

"So what brings you down to my place Harry?" Thomas asked, ushering me back to the manager's office and closing the door.

"I've got a strange case that I thought you might be able to help me figure out what I'm up against." I told him, sitting in the high back leather chair across from the desk.

Thomas half slid and half fell across his plush, overstuffed chair, his knees over one arm, softly kicking his feet and his back against the other, his long golden hair cascading over his shoulder as he gave me a sidelong glance. "So you want my help, little brother?" He asked overly inquisitively. Then without giving me a chance to continue, he rested his head against the arm of the chair and turned to look at me. "Then I have a favor to ask as well. Is it a deal?" He asked in an overly formal tone.

"Thomas, your acting strangely, is there something wrong?" I asked my weird meter pushing into the red. "What is it you need?" I asked more to the point.

"I want to kill Laura and take over the family." He said in a matter of fact tone with a wolfish look on his face. His blue eyes narrowed and his teeth showing a little too much as he smiled. "I want you to help me." He said with the same tone, as if he were ordering a case of wine.

"Thomas, you're starting to scare me." I said leaning back in my chair, grabbing my blasting rod discretely. "You've never wanted to run the family, in fact you opened this place to make a place for yourself where you'd be able to support the families 'needs' and be their showpiece without having to get involved with the politics and infighting. Where is this coming from?"

"I've changed my mind. I'm the rightful heir and my sister's in my way. Daddy isn't doing too well lately and I think now's my time to make a move." He said swinging his legs around to sit up and put his palms on the desk, leaning across the ornate antique nearly drooling. "Help me Harry, we can run the family and this town together. You and me, what do you say?" He asked, his eyes wide but not crazy as he spouted insanity from his mouth.

"First of all, this isn't like you. You've never once said anything about wanting to take over the family, leave it yes, run it? That's always been the last thing you wanted. As for me, I have no desire to become an evil overlord of the city. We already have one, his name's Marcone and I can't believe you'd want to become anything like him. It's just not who you are. Now tell me what the hell is going on here Thomas!" I said pushing my chair back and putting some power into my shield bracelet.

About that time the door swung open with a loud thud. Thomas stood in the door way, his hair perfect but his shirt slightly torn and his eyes were a light shade of silver as he stared past me at himself leaning over the desk.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" He shouted slamming the door and moving to the side of the desk in a blur of motion. He grabbed the Thomas leaning over the desk and shoved him back into the overstuffed chair with enough force to elicit loud crack and popping sounds from the sturdy chairs joints.

"It was just a game little brother..." The Thomas in the chair chortled and shimmered, his form blurring then coming back into focus as a beautiful woman. She wore a white silk dress with small ruffles running down the dress, outlining her perfect curves. The top barely contained her curves and her white, smooth skin. Laura's platinum bold hair fell around her shoulders and danced down her sides as she shook her head.

"Laura, what are you doing here and why's Harry here?" He asked as his fingers began to dig into the soft supple flesh on her shoulder.

"I had some questions so I came to see you, but when I saw Harry... I thought I'd double check my suspicions with him first." She said giving me a coy smile.

"Suspicions? About what?!" Thomas asked in a cold tone of voice taking a step back but still on his guard, his eyes shone silver and followed every move she made and still managed to watch the room. I pushed my senses around the room and out into the hallway. Except for the very human waitress bustling in the store room, there was nobody else nearby and the only magic I could pick up was the faint and subtle magic Laura had used to disguise herself.

"As you know my dear brother, there has been a bit of tension in the family for some time now. Right of succession, territorial disputes, income distribution and so on." she said blithely waving her hand as if it was all such trivial and mundane happenings. "However, there have been rumors lately. Very ugly rumors." She said glancing at me and then my brother.

"You think we're plotting to overthrow the white court and take over this territory?" I asked in disbelief. Thomas's head jerked towards me, his silver eyes wide with shock.

"What? She thinks that?" Thomas asked in the same bewildered tone as I, turning to Laura and quickly releasing her, "You think that? Seriously?!" He said like a school boy who's feelings have been hurt. "Laura, really, your paranoia has gone seriously off the deep end now."

"I'd thought the same thing until I saw this." Laura said pulling a small packet from her handbag under the desk and dropping it on the blotter, pictures spilling across the desk. The pictures were from last night. They showed me sitting in the diner with Simone and then more with Lash and I eating with Simone. There were others with Simone and Lash shopping and finally with all of us in the truck on our way home.

"Why are you following me and what does this have to do with anything?!" I asked quickly becoming angry.

"Harry," Thomas said in a calm even tone, turning to give me a very serious look. "Why are you with this girl and when were these taken?" He asked his voice soft and his tone low.

"I was with her because she was frozen, starving and in trouble. She was on the street asking for money so she could sit in a cafe and warm up. I couldn't leave her there like that. She was scared and alone. I called Lash to come reassure her until we could decide what needed to be done." I said outraged. "In fact, that's WHY I'm here! She saw something she shouldn't have." I said turning to Laura, letting my blasting rod slip from my duster, clearly visible and glowing an amber golden color. "Just what Exactly is going on at Easton Academy Laura? What are you doing to those girls?!" I said accusingly but not overtly threatening.

"Harry, stop..." Thomas said calmly, leaning forward to put his face between mine and Laura's giving me a serious look. "This is serious." He said giving me a meaningful look. "She's my niece."

"What do you mean, in trouble and saw something she shouldn't have?" Laura asked her voice ringing with a rarely heard tone of genuine concern. Her body moved to the edge of the chair, she leaned forward looking up at me around our half brother. Her skirt had slid up her thighs as she slid forward and her top hung open exposing her exquisite body from this angle. I only took a glance but that was more than necessary for my body to have a distinctly male reaction. I focused on my brother and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I mean when we got her home and washed up, she told us why she ran away from the Academy. Before we get into that, you need to tell me what's going on." I said returning my blasting rod to its place inside my jacket. I sat down in the chair and looked at Laura's face expectantly.

"What's going on is of no concern to you Wizard. Return the child now and nothing further will be said on the matter. However, if you do not return the child... I can't be held responsible for the consequences." Laura said in a cold tone raising one eyebrow slightly.

"Bring it Lady!" I said meeting her gaze, feeling the fire raising in my belly. "I'm not turning her over to anyone until I know what's going on. For all I know it's your people she's running from. I'm not about to let her walk back into that school without making sure she'll be safe. That goes for the rest of the students as well. I don't know what you've got going on there, but I'm sure as hell not letting you use or feed on little girls." I said in a cold even tone, my gaze not wavering one bit as Laura and I regarded each other, wondering who'd blink first.

"Yes, yes, you're both master and mistress of your domain." Thomas said in a condescending tone. "We don't have time for drama or genital measuring right now. If you two would put on your grown up pants for a moment, maybe we can get to the bottom of this." Thomas said holding up pictures of the small timid child to Laura and I in turn. "There are more important matters here."

Laura and I both glanced from the pictures to Thomas then to each other. "Truce?" I asked begrudgingly.

"For now." Laura replied with a pout and bit of a snarl.

"Why did you think Thomas and I were plotting a takeover?" I asked shaking my head, trying to process everything that'd happened in the last few minutes.

"Because you had her and she's... Important." Laura said smoothly, telling me very little.

"Important to the house of Raith?" I asked Thomas.

"Important to the White Court." Thomas replied correcting me giving me a serious look.

"Thomas! You've overstepped your authority, you've said too much." Laura said eyeing me dangerously.

"Okay, so you want to protect her. Good to know. That doesn't explain what's going on at Easton Academy." I said casually glancing from one to another to see if I'd struck a chord. Unfortunately they both gave me blank stares.

"Easton Academy is a normal girls boarding school, one of the finest in the country its run and overseen strictly by humans. The security is top notch by all standards as the children of dignitaries from around the world also reside in those walls. The children there are from the most notable families from around the world, human and non-human alike. The last part is kept secret from all of the humans there and the students powers and alternate forms are bound while at the school. This is so they can learn to live in human society as a normal human. It's necessary for them to be able to move in human circles without notice, for their sakes as well as humanity's." Laura told me, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs, exposing her silky thighs.

"So if it's overseen by humans, then who's doing the summoning in the basement?" I asked half to myself.

Laura and Thomas both looked shocked and alarmed, which for these two is a rare thing, much less both at once. This disturbed me, along with the revelation that we had a monster training facility in my back yard. I often wondered how many non-human species that were not invasive or overtly dangerous lived on the fringe or even in mainstream society along with humans. I only tended to meet the more nasty violent ones. However, I'd seen a few here and there that were quite harmless and only wanted to live quiet, simple lives without being hunted by humanity or studied like a lab rat. So long as they didn't try to eat, hurt or control anyone in my town, then I was happy to live and let live.

"What do you mean, 'summoning'?" Thomas asked in a concerned tone.

"Just what I said. That's what Simone saw that spooked her bad enough to run. She ended up sleeping in an alley and living off handouts for two days until I met her." I told them, giving them the reader's digest version of the story.

"That shouldn't be possible..." Laura said looking up at her brother.

"There are wards and seals all over the school to keep out any sort of magic and to block it from functioning. It's a safeguard that was added to the school over years of renovation and as upgrades were done to the school. in case one of the students lost control, the wards would make them unable to use their powers or change form also to protect the school from an outside attack. The school is even recognized as neutral ground by the accords." Thomas explained.

"Since Simone was at the school and in our territory, protecting her falls to our family. With the school being neutral ground and by mutual agreement to be run only by humans, there is little we can do but protect the school as a whole from the outside." Laura finished explaining with a begrudging tone.

"So if anything were to happen to her, you'd have a target painted on your back, is that it?" I asked Laura, starting to understand what this was all about.

"Something like that and when I received these photos of you spiriting her away to your warded and sealed home, I had to wonder." she said giving me an honest look.

"I see. That much makes sense then." I said scratching my head and glancing at Thomas.

"How old is the Academy?" I asked, the wheels turning slowly in my head.

"It's over a hundred and fifty years old. The original building on the site was a mansion built by a land owner who made it rich selling off land to the Rail Road's in the 1800's I believe. Why do you ask?" Thomas gave me a quizzical look.

"It may be nothing, let me do some research and see what I can find out." I told him.

"Then you'll return the girl?" Laura half asked, half demanded.

"If she's your niece, why didn't she come to you when she ran away?" I answered her question with a question of my own.

"She doesn't know yet Harry. She doesn't even know about us. When her parents were killed, the family thought it best to have her sent to the Academy. Given her status and the chance that she may be attacked by the same faction that got her parents killed. It was the safest option." Thomas explained.

"What happened to her parents?"

"I happened to them." Laura said in a stern voice. "Her mother was my sister and next in line after me to take the throne, when Daddy dies. Her husband's family decided to shorten the line of succession. In the heat of the moment, she stood with him and took what was supposed to be his death blow. It did no good, he fell shortly after. It's not something I'm proud of, but I won't be belittled over it either. I did what needed to be done and have continued to do so since that day." Laura said her eyes showing silver sparks and becoming slightly glassy as the memories played in her head.

"Since then, her husband's family has tried to lay claim to the child on a few occasions, but nothing's come of it." Thomas explained. "If they can't have her, then maybe they'll settle for the next best thing, revenge on us for killing their son." Thomas interjected.

"I can see where you're coming from there's just one thing that doesn't fit. Simone wasn't initially targeted. She followed her friend to the room down, 'an old tunnel' she had said. Her friend was the one that was involved in the summoning along with about ten other girls from what she said. She may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time." I said glancing between the two.

"Either way, it's going to be hard to look into this. If the White Court were to send people onto the grounds, it would be viewed with suspicion at best and possibly an act of aggression." Thomas said shaking his head.

"Maybe we don't have to..." Laura said smiling sweetly at me. The sweet smile didn't give me warm fuzzies. In fact I got a cold chill up my spine suspecting what she had in mind as Thomas gave me an appraising look. I sighed and rolled my shoulders..

"Hell's bells, it's going to be one of those days..." I said to myself.


	3. Chapter 3

Uncle Harry

Chapter 3

_**A/N:**__ When I wrote, "Angels Among Us" I had honestly expected it would be the only Harry/Lash story I'd write. Had I known I'd write three or more of these, I'd not have given him the truck so early. _

I was heading to the door after saying my goodbyes to Justine and Thomas when a strawberry blonde woman hurried to catch up with me.

"Mr. Dresden? Harry Dresden?" She asked loudly, nearly out of breath and waving at me.

"Yes, can I help you?" I asked turning to see the attractive woman in her early twenties come to a bouncing stop. Her voluptuous body adjusted itself under her expensive business-slutty clothes, which is the dress uniform for house Raith staffers. She wore a short charcoal colored pencil skirt with stockings and the garter just showing, due to her exertion. She also had on a thin white blouse that was possibly a thin cotton or polyester and 4" black stiletto heels. She took a deep breath, holding her hand up for me to wait.

"There's an emergency, a phone call for you... The police." she half panted, her full apple cheeks flushed as she pointed to an open door down the hall. "You can take it... in my office."

I didn't waste time asking questions. I hurried down the hall to the open door, my duster flapping behind me as I ran. Inside the room there was a phone with the receiver setting on the desk. I quickly snatched up the receiver and nearly barked into the phone, "Hello?"

"Harry, it's Murphy. There's been an incident, you need to get to Cook County Hospital. I don't know what happened Harry, but Lash is in the E.R. and there's a frightened little girl with her. Harry, she's been shot." Murphy said in her 'delivering bad news' voice.

I wanted to question her, but she already said she didn't know what happened. Now all I could do was get to the hospital and deal with the here and now.

"Murphy, put someone on that kid and make it someone you trust." I told her sternly. "Whatever happened, It's likely got to do with her. I'll explain when I get there." I told her and slammed the receiver down on the plastic cradle. The woman was just coming into the room as I turned to the door, my mood must have shown on my face as she stopped short and quickly moved out of my way.

"Should I call the car around for you sir?" She asked watching me stride past her with an unreadable look on her face, part shock and part something else.

"I'm fine, just be sure to tell Thomas I'm headed to Cook County Hospital. The woman the girl was with has been shot." I told her over my shoulder with a grimace, the words nearly sticking in my throat. My guts were twisting just thinking of seeing Lash in the hospital again. The tubes coming off her body and her laying unconscious. The more I thought about it the angrier and more worried I became.

I slipped the key into the door of the old truck and twisted it, giving a audible thunk as the lock popped up. I swung the door open and slid into the driver's seat, pulling the seatbelt across my lap and buckling it. As I put the key into the ignition the passenger door swung open and my brother lithely slipped into the seat next to me, slamming the door as he turned to me. His jaw was set and his face had a serious look on it. I knew it was a waste of time to argue with him and I didn't have any to spare right now. I simply nodded at him and stepped on the gas, the engine responding with a loud deep growl. The truck jerked forward and raced down the long narrow driveway of the park like estate.

The street lights and power poles came and went in quick succession as I hurried through the suburbs and then into the city. I explained to Thomas what Murphy had told me on the phone and stepped harder on the gas pedal. Thomas just smiled and put his hand on the dashboard. I have to admit, I did like this truck. It was a gift from Thomas a few years back when the Beetle was in the shop. It was close to my birthday and I needed a vehicle to go find the kidnapped Murphy, so he gave it to me a few weeks early. He had the truck 'customized' in many unique and wizard proofing ways. I have to admit I haven't hardly had any engine trouble and it's nice to drive a V8 for a change, especially when you're in a hurry.

I parked in emergency parking and was half out of the truck before the engine died. I slammed the door and raced past the double sliding glass doors and stepped into the waiting area.

"Harry, you need to calm down." Thomas said putting his hand on my shoulder. "Lash is somewhere on this floor and you coming in upset could cause a lot of problems. Take a second and take a few deep breaths before you break something important." He said softly but with a stern voice of reason.

I stopped and closed my eyes, bowing my head slightly. I took in a long deep breath and pushed the anger, fear and worry into a small door in the back of my brain and locked it away. When I exhaled I let my body relax and cleared my mind. It's not an easy thing to do and honestly given the situation I was a little surprised I could do it. However I've been training myself for years to control my emotions, pain, panic and other distracting things for years. In a fight or negotiations, losing your cool is never a good thing.

I opened my eyes and cracked my neck, then looked at my brother over my shoulder.

"You good?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm good." I told him diplomatically.

"Harry! Over here." I heard Murphy's familiar voice. Looking up I saw her standing near the nurses' station. She quickly walked towards us as we closed the gap.

"Murph, how's she doing?" I asked before she could speak.

"Well, she was shot in the left side. The doctors don't think it's too bad, her vitals are good, but the bullet's still inside her. It was a small caliber round so it didn't seem to do too much damage. She's in surgery right now to remove it." She said giving me a hopeful look. Murphy lead us to a small consultation room off to the side of the Emergency Room. She closed the door and motioned for us to sit.

"Murphy, do they know who did this?" I asked feeling myself becoming tense and making a mental effort to relax.

"Yes, we think we have all of them." Murphy said with a small smile. "It seems when the uniforms arrived to a 'shots fired' call, they found Lash and the girl in front of a strip mall loading bay. Lash had one of the guys pinned down behind a dumpster. The other two were unconscious with minor to moderate wounds." She said sounding a little impressed. "It would appear that she didn't want to use magic in the open so she went at them hand to hand and was winning until one pulled a gun and shot her. That's when she put up a shield and pulled her own pistol. She hit him in the leg and upper chest before he could duck behind the dumpster."

"How's Simone? The little girl, did she get hurt?" I asked remembering that Lash wasn't the only one here. "Where is she?" I asked having not seen her in the waiting area.

"She's fine. I have Rawlings watching her and someone from social services is on the way." she said eyeing me more intently. "Who is she Harry? I mean who is she to you?"

"She's a client." I told her with an impassive face. "She's in a bit of trouble. I'm not quite sure what's going on here yet myself but if someone jumped Lash, they were likely after the girl. They obviously didn't know who Lash was or they'd brought more men and bigger guns." I said honestly.

"We need to find her family and let them know what's going on. There's nothing I can do about that Harry. It's protocol." She said looking concerned as this may just turn into a big can of hard to explain worms.

"Thank you for taking such good care of my niece Officer Murphy." Thomas said from my side. He'd been so quiet I'd nearly forgotten he was with me. "Simone's parents, my half sister and her husband, passed away in an unfortunate accident a few years ago. My sister and I are her legal guardians." Thomas told her leaning back in his chair, crossing his legs in a slow, smooth motion.

Murphy looked at Thomas, her cheeks turning a light pink as he smiled at her kindly.

"You're her guardian? Harry, what's going on?" Murphy said, still looking at Thomas and sounding suspicious.

"Look, something spooked her at her boarding school, Easton Academy and she ran away. I found her on the streets last night and took her in. I just found out that she's part of the Raith family." I told her truthfully.

"What spooked her?" Murphy asked raising an eyebrow at the name of the school.

"I don't know. She said there was a circle of girls in a trance like state and then a monster appeared from a glowing circle. " I explained as succinctly as I could.

"A monster huh?" Murphy said frowning and shaking her head. "There's no way I can get a warrant to search the school for 'spooky monsters' and I don't think the headmaster there would willingly let the police onto the property without a damn good reason." Murphy said thinking it through. "You'll have to come up with something on your own Harry."

"It's complicated." I told her, rubbing my eyes with my palms as the room went silent.

There was an unexpected knock on the door that nearly made me jump. I turned to see a doctor in her scrubs come into the room. She appeared to be in her mid thirties and aside from the stress lines around her eyes she had a girl next door quality about her. The blood stains still wet on her scrubs.

"Officer Murphy, I wanted to let you know that she's out of surgery and doing as well as can be expected. The round didn't sever any major arteries or puncture any organs and we got it out safely. Still, we want to keep an eye on her for now anyway." the doctor told Murphy.

"Can we see her?" I asked relieved to hear it went well.

"Well she's lost a lot of blood and we have her sedated now. She'll likely be out until tomorrow morning, so you should wait until then." The doctor told me in a dispassionate, clinical manner.

"Is there any way I could just sit with her?" I asked quietly, looking up at the tired doctor who just sighed at me.

"Harry, let her rest for tonight. There's someone else you need to look after." Thomas said softly.

"Harry? Do you know the little girl that came in with the woman?" She asked, doing a double take noticing that Thomas was in the room. Her face suddenly taking on a softer look as she smiled slightly.

"I do, yes."

"She..." the doctor said staring at Thomas, who was smiling back and flirting. "She's been asking for you." The doctor said her voice now soft and warm. She self-consciously started twirling her hair around her finger and was rocking slowly from one foot to the other. "You should go see her..." Her voice trailed off as she was now completely ignoring me and Murphy.

"I can take you to her..." Murphy said with a smirk as we got up, the doctor and Thomas completely oblivious of our presence.

"Thanks Murphy." I said reaching out to grab my half brother, the vampire of Love, and haul him out of his chair by his shoulder.

"I should be going as well..." Thomas said smoothly to the doctor as he gracefully came to his feet and slipped my hand off his shoulder. Giving the nurse a dazzling smile and waving discretely as we left the room.

"Can't you turn that off?! We're in a hospital for crying out loud!" I whispered harshly at my brother.

"What can I say, it's not like I was trying to seduce her."

"You weren't trying to stop it either." I said in a harsher tone than was absolutely required for this situation.

"I am a bit puckish..." He complained defensively, he rolled his eyes as we followed close on Murphy's heels.

We went up two flights of stairs and then proceeded down a long hallway to a section of the hospital that appeared to be closed for the day. It appeared to be a general practice or outpatient area. At the end of the hall sat two uniformed police officers facing us and we could see the light coming from the examination room and could hear soft voices.

"I was in the closet for hours and hours. Then when the sun had come up I went to sneak out." Simone's voice was just audible. "I told Stacy and Krista what happened but they said I was making it up or trying to steal something from their closet. As if I'd want anything of theirs..." Simone said disgustedly.

"I see, that must have really hurt your feelings." Came the soft smooth voice I didn't recognize.

"It did..." Simone said with a sniffle.

Murphy raised her hand for us to stop, pointing at the officers vacant, glassy eye's. We waited listening as Murphy unlatched her side arm and Thomas pulled a large nasty looking knife from his jacket. I initially reached for my blasting rod, but being in a hospital I thought better of it and pulled out my .45, quietly cocking the hammer.

"I can help you forget about all of that and make them forget it to. It'd be like it never happened. Would you like that?" He asked in his smooth bass voice.

"I don't know... I think something terrible is happening to those girls..." Simone said in a soft, shy, worried voice.

Murphy slowly moved next to the door, careful to stay out of sight. Thomas and I followed suit, with Thomas bringing up the rear.

"Don't you worry about that. I'll make sure they're fine." He said reassuringly. "Now just close your eyes for me..."

"I... I don't know... Harry is coming for me..." She said sounding frightened and pulling away.

Murphy lithely turned and took three quick steps into the room, drawing her sidearm and pointing at the head of the large pale looking gentleman kneeling down in front of Simone. He had blond hair and light brown eyes. His face was round but lined with a hard life's worth of wrinkles. He appeared to be in his late 50's but it was hard to tell as his hair was full and without a hint of gray. I followed simply stepping into the room and then to the side, away from Murphy. I nearly bumped into Rawlings sitting in a chair peacefully, his side arm in his lap and his face had the same vacant stare as those in the hallway. Thomas brought up the rear, filling the door way as he gave the gentleman a particularly nasty look, which on a white court vampire still looks endearing somehow.

"Put your hands where I can see them and move away from the child." Murphy said in a well trained voice of authority. She stood with her knees slightly bent, her feet shoulder width apart with her hips and shoulders relaxed and in directly over her feet. She held the gun in both hands sighting down the barrel as she spoke.

"Don't look at his eyes..." I said moving just in front of Rawlings, taking a stance similar to Murphys. At this point I suspected him to be a Wizard, if he was a white council wizard or more likely a warlock had yet to be determined. Either way, especially in a hospital I didn't want to start tossing around magic. He on the other hand seemed to be more like my apprentice Molly, gifted at subtle magic's. If that were the case then he could cast a spell or enter your mind just by looking at you. That and being a Wizard there's always the chance of a Soul Gaze. Seeing into another person's memories and very soul and they see yours. it's a vivid experience that can't be forgotten. I've seen a few that still give me nightmares and every time I think about them it's as if I'm reliving the experience. They are powerful and extremely personal, so best to avoid them unless you really need to, especially in a fight.

"You're a little early. I was hoping to be gone before you got here." He said holding up his hands and turning slowly to face us. He had a confident smirk on his face as he looked us over.

"You heard the lady, step away from the girl." I said coldly, my eyes glued to his chest. Thomas just narrowed his eyes making him look dangerous.

"Now now... Let's not resort to violence. I'm actually looking out for her best interests. It's obvious this is distressing her. I was just going to take that burden off her shoulders" He said with a plastic, 'Trust Me' smile, as he spread his hands, palms up and about shoulder height.

"Take her burden and a chunk of her memories, that's one way to spin it." I said noticing him lean forward just slightly and shifting his weight to his left foot.

"Now let's not get hasty... Funny story, she just.." He started then threw his hands forward throwing a fine sand like substance into the air, it filled the air floating in two large overlapping clouds. He mumbled a couple of words I didn't understand making each particle shimmer, suddenly It smelled slightly of poppies and lavender and sparkled as it floated, hanging in the air.

Murphy, Thomas and I covered our eyes and faces as the dust came at us. I heard the 'POP' of Murphy's service revolver twice and Simone screaming as she dashed past me. I tried to get a look at what was going on while everything went blurry. Next the floor rushed up to greet my face. I didn't feel a thing, it was like I was floating in a warm place. I felt a slight burn in my eyes and lungs as my heavy eyelids fell shut.


	4. Chapter 4

Uncle Harry

Chapter 4

_**A/N:**__ I'm planning on trying to keep updating on a weekly basis. I was busy this weekend so I'm working on it tonight to catch up. As always thank you for reading and reviewing the story. I hope you're enjoying it. :)_

"I said DON'T TAKE THEM to the ER! Treat them HERE!" I heard a loud, angry voice proclaim only a few feet from my head.

"Sir, we don't know what's wrong with them. We NEED to have them in the ER in case something unexpected happens." Said another voice straining to keep its composure.

"If you take these two to the ER I guarantee something unexpected WILL happen." replied the first man, then under his breath he continued. "It always does, and it's usually expensive."

"I've never had two men fighting over me before, I'm not sure how I should feel..." I said rubbing my bruised and aching face.

"See, he's fine. Now just check him out and send him HOME!" said the portly middle aged man with thick glasses and a gray hairline that had receded to the top of his head. He look at me, straightening his wrinkled suit and gave me a practiced smile. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better Mr. Dresden" he said turning to leave.

"No thanks to you..." I said loud enough for him to hear it. "I wonder if my cousin Vincent would take this as a malpractice case or would it be discrimination?" I thought out loud. The heavyset man in the wrinkled suit stopped and grimaced, but didn't turn around, then decided to simply proceed on his way pretending to not have heard me. As he marched off determinedly I moaned.. "My back.. what happened to my back!" With that he huffed and turned the corner disappearing from sight.

"Harry, it's not nice to tease the normal's." Murphy said shaking her woozy head and trying to sit up.

"Easy there miss, you have a bump on the back of your head and you may have a concussion. I'll need to get an x-ray." the handsome doctor said, his bedside manner kicking in as he gently helped Murphy lay back down. She was looking into his eyes with a faint smile on her face, which was either a byproduct of the sleeping spell or an whole other kind of charm that the doctor was oozing.

"The girl? Where is the little girl that was in here?" I asked pushing myself up remembering what had happened. My head spinning as I pushed my feet over the edge of the gurney they had me on, looking frantically for Simone.

"She's fine, sir. She's with the police right now. She couldn't be safer." the doctor said reassuringly.

"She was with three of them when we got here, not that it did any good." I said darkly. The doctor put his hand on my chest as I was getting ready to get up off the gurney.

"You need to lie down and rest. We don't know what it was that you ingested that caused you to black out. It could happen again." the doctor warned, giving me a serious look. I looked down at his hand pointedly then at him.

"You're a doctor and seem to be a nice guy so let me put this nicely. Move your hand if you want to keep it, please!" I said as nicely as I could at the moment. His hand moved away quickly as he scowled at me.

"Fine, but it's against Doctors orders." He said, picking up my chart and writing something in it. Probably, something along the lines of patient is a jackass, which I couldn't really argue with so I ignored him and moved to the doorway.

"Where's the girl?" I asked, holding on to the door frame as I hadn't quite gotten my sea legs yet and the building seemed to be going through a squall.

"Second door on the left." he said without looking up at me as he started to examine Thomas.

I looked down the hallway and noticed drops of blood stopping at a recently cleaned spot on the floor. I remembered hearing Murphy's gun going off as the lights went out and the smooth talking guy with the dust. He wasn't anyone I'd seen at the White Council meetings or working with the Wardens, so I was assuming he was either a very low level practitioner or a Warlock. Either way he knew what was going on and I needed to find out.

"The guy that was shot, where did they take him?" I asked looking over my shoulder.

"They took him to the ER then the morgue." the doctor said as he checked Thomas's pupil reactions.

So he was dead. That won't be much help to me, but maybe there's something on his person that could give me a clue as to what was going on here. For now I needed to get to Simone.

I walked down the hall and nodded to the four uniformed officers outside the doorway, flashing my consultant badge at them. They gave me curious looks and one spoke up as I was reaching for the door.

"How's Sergeant Murphy? Is it true that she was knocked out?" one of the younger uniforms asked in disbelief.

"It's true and she's doing fine. The guy that attacked her, didn't make it." I said giving him a serious look, making him fidget with a nervous smile.

I swung the door open and pushed my way inside. There was a small mob of suits and one little girl crying her eyes out looking terrified. I slid the chair of the guy in front of me to the side using my foot, garnering an angry look as I stepped past him.

"Uncle Harry!" She gasped between sobs, reaching her arms out towards me. I stepped closer to her, patting her head and putting my arm around her as I turned to the detectives.

"Now I know how many detectives it takes to terrify one little girl, how many of you does it take to change a light bulb?" I asked scowling from one to the next.

"Dresden, this is an ongoing investigation! You have no business being here!" the square jawed detective sitting to my right growled. His voice sounding gravely from too many nights living on coffee, cigarettes and rot gut bourbon. Between the flat top and the attitude I had to expect he was an ex-marine. Probably a drill sergeant by his manner and tone.

"The girl's with me. I'm not leaving this room without her." I said slowly in a soft bass voice, looking calmly, evenly from each detective to the next again. Most looked away as I turned to them, but the square jawed guy just folded his arms over his chest and stared at me, his eyes boring into my chest. I looked him square in the nose as I slid down onto the examining table next to Simone. She hugged my neck and buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing and nearly hyperventilating.

"Your investigation can wait until she feels safe and calm. It's my girlfriend in recovery with a bullet wound and my friends next door who got knocked out and on top of that this girl is my client. I have every right to be here and you'd have a devil of a time making me move right now." I said holding Simone close, gently rubbing her back and looking at the lead investigator.

He let out a low growl and glared at me, "Guys, take ten while I have a chat with this, gentleman." He said never taking his eyes off me. The other three suites nodded and quickly left the room, this guy was obviously the alpha in the group.

"You say she's your client? What sort of case are you working on? Because, what I heard from the other guys that got knocked out, the dead guy used some sort of gas to put them out. If you ask me it sounds like a terrorist attack and here you are, our own resident wacko right in the middle of it." He said pulling up a chair and lowering himself into it.

"The details of my case are confidential, I'm sure you know that." I told him feeling Simone's arms loosen around my neck as I refused to talk about her. "In case you didn't notice I was with the guys that stopped the 'terrorist' and got a face full of whatever he was throwing around myself." I finished with a bit of a snarl.

"I don't know, it could be that you kidnapped this girl and wanted to ransom her back but your partner got greedy and made a grab for her. That sounds as plausible as what you've put out." He said glaring at me. "Make no mistake, this is My case. You can't hide behind Murphy on this one Dresden."

"With such a fertile imagination I think you've missed your calling Detective..." I glanced at the name plate on his chest that said, "DET. GRISHAM" in capital blocky letters. "Detective Grisham, you should have been a writer. Trust me I do a lot of reading and your stories sound more interesting than half of the stuff on the best seller list. Tell me, do you save the fiction for your incident reports or is writing a hobby? Probably a little of both, huh?" I sneered at him.

"You'd better start giving me some answers Mr. Wizard, or you'll be spending a long couple of days with some very unfriendly cell mates while I file the obstruction of justice charges."

Simone pulled one arm from around my neck and turned to face the officer. Her cheeks were red with silver tear streaks, her eyes red from crying, her lips trembling with anger. She faced him with a reproachful glare only a child can give.

"You STOP IT! Uncle Harry SAVED me and he hasn't done anything wrong! I ran away from school and he found me and helped me!" She told him defiantly, the tears still dripping from her eyes.

"Aunt Lash and Uncle Harry are the first people who've been nice to me since my parents died! Aunt Lash got shot.." she stuttered and sniffed as a new bout of tears poured from her eyes but she didn't stop. " Sh, Sh, She was shot helping me, protecting me and Uncle Harry tried to save me from the man in the other room just now! So you just a STOP IT!" She finished, the tears running unashamedly down her face, her chin stuck out as she leaned against me glaring at Grisham.

"I get it, you need answers, we all do at this point. She's had a really bad day and could use some food and rest right now." I said sounding the voice of reason, patting Simone's head softly. "Why don't you meet us here tomorrow morning when Lash wakes up and we can piece this all together then."

The grizzled detective gave me a grudging look, still not trusting me but unable to refute the sobbing, pint sized girl clinging to me. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head. Then he looked at Simone with a markedly softer look on his face.

"You know, you remind me a lot of my granddaughter." He said to Simone in a softer, gentler voice that I would have never expected from the hardboiled detective. "If you say he's okay, then I'll have to take your word for it. Just one thing, why did you run away from school?" he asked sounding truly concerned.

"She saw some men leading a group of girls down to the basement in the middle of the night. When they saw her, they chased her." I said seriously, telling him as much as I could and still be believable.

"Then I ran and hid until they left. I told my friends and tried to get help, but they said I was a liar and made fun of me. So I ran away... I was lost in the city for a few days until I met Uncle Harry. He gave me food and Aunt Lash made up the guest room for me. It was the first time in days I'd been warm or able to sleep..." She said remembering the bitter cold and sounds of the city at night.

"You said you went to Easton Academy?" the detective asked in more of a professional voice.

"Yes." Simone replied simply, wiping her cheek with her sleeve.

"Even with an eye-witness statement, I doubt we could get in there to investigate. But, the guy down the hall, you think he had something to do with this too?" He asked looking at me.

"That'd be my guess. He said he was going to make her forget, I think he planned on hypnotizing or drugging her, that's when he attacked us." I said filling in the gaps of his timeline.

"Detective Grisham, are you finished with my witnesses?" Murphy asked from the doorway.

"Actually, since you were attacked, it's MY case now. You're too close on this one Murphy, the chief of Detectives put me on this case for just that reason. Well, that and I'm the only guy he felt you wouldn't be able to bully into backing down." he said with a wry smile.

"I don't bully people." Murphy said in mock shock.

"And I only drink after 9pm." he said sarcastically. "I've got what I need for now. Dresden, don't talk to the press or anyone else about what you told me. The last thing I need is a media storm and the last thing you need is to have me pissed at you."

Normally I don't take threats seriously, but something in his voice and how he held himself gave me the impression he was right. I just nodded and wiped another tear from Simone's cheek. He nodded to Murphy and stepped past her into the hall, letting the door close in his wake.

Murphy looked at me holding Simone, who'd half sat, half collapsed into my lap. Her small warm arms around my waist, her wet face against my t-shirt as she looked up at Murphy.

"You two okay?" she asked, pushing a hair out of Simone's eyes and over her ear.

"Yes." Simone said in a small tired voice, sniffing against my t-shirt.

"Tired and hungry but okay for now, I think." I said looking down at Simone and my soiled shirt. Simone nodded silently.

"Then how about we get out of here and go get some food?" Murphy said with a soft smile. "I know a place that has the best grilled cheese sandwich in town."

"And hot chocolate?" Simone asked hopefully.

"With a mountain of whipped cream on top!" Murphy said smiling. I gave her a curious look, wondering if she'd been holding out on me.

Ten minutes later we were pulling into the narrow parking stalls at Mac's with Murphy pulling up beside us. Although I'd never had the grilled cheese sandwich here, I'm sure it was great. We walked down the half flight of stairs and pushed into the warmth of the small establishment. As the door closed the aroma of grilled steak and caramelized onions filled my nostrils. Now I remembered why I'd never tried the grilled cheese, club house or even the grilled pastrami sandwiches here and I wouldn't be ordering any of those again tonight.

The next twenty minutes went by with very little conversation. Murphy and I sipped our ales while Simone sipped her ridiculously large hot chocolate with the promised mountain of whipped cream and sprinkles. It seems Mac only serves hot chocolate in those fancy big espresso cups, much to the delight of Simone. Then I picked up our meals at the bar, two steak sandwiches and one grilled cheese with one large plate with 3 orders of house fries piled high. I had to juggle the tartar sauce and catsup with the plates but made it safely to our booth. After that there were no need for words as the soft gentle moans of gastric delight were enough to say volumes.

While Murphy went to go get our coffees, which were oddly enough in regular people sized cups, I noticed a warm lump on my side. Looking down I saw Simone had pulled my duster around her and was snugly curled up against me snoozing softly.

Murphy set my cup down in front of me smiling at the angelic child blissfully asleep against me.

"You know, you did really well with her today, Harry. I was impressed. I think you'll make a good dad someday." she said honestly.

"Sure, when I'm not out fighting something ugly and nasty or dodging bullets, maybe I could go to the park?" I said dismissing the notion.

"Michael seems to have made it work and you and Lash seem to be getting along just fine." Murphy said looking at me over her cup.

"Michael has 'special circumstances'." I told her meaningfully.

"True, but your house seems as safe as any military base from the looks of it."

"Maybe so, but it's what happens outside the house that worries me. Like with Lash today..." I said feeling the worry tightening my knotted neck and shoulder muscles even tighter.

"Maybe so, but I get the impression that any child you two would have would be able to handle themselves better than most." Murphy said with a knowing smile.

"Maybe so, but I never saw myself as the 'Daddy' type." I said making sure Simone was covered and warm.

"I don't know Dresden, you look pretty 'Dad-ish' to me right now." Murphy said as I added more sugar to my cup.

"She's just so young and innocent... Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing in my place." I said honestly.

"Maybe so, but it was You this time, Harry. She seems to have grown fond of you and Lash as well."

"She was scared and in trouble, we helped. I think it's natural for he to cling to someone who protects her in times like these." I said sipping my coffee.

"I think it's more than that Harry. I also think you need to be careful how you handle this and any promises you make, you better be willing to keep. A child's heart, especially a little girls heart is fragile." Murphy said seeming to be a thousand miles away. "Broken promises are the hardest to forget."

"I don't have too many memories of my Dad, but in all the memories I have, he was smiling." I said thinking back. "I just don't know if I could give a child those types of warm memories. I'm afraid I'd give them nightmares or worse, that they'd be taken by one." I said with a shrug.

"Harry, no parent is perfect and children don't come with owner's manuals, ask Michael. Between your apprentice and her brother, I'm sure he has stories he could tell you for days." She said with a grin, thinking of Molly. "But just take a look at their eyes when they talk about their dad. You'll see they twinkle."

"Once again, Michael and Charity are special cases. How about you? You'd make a great mom. Have you thought about it?" I asked honestly.

"Humph, I've thought about it. I wouldn't count it out of the realm of possibility, but if I'm going to, I should be starting soon." she said sliding her thumb over her empty ring finger. "Somehow I don't see it happening any time soon." She said looking a little sad.

"I could hook you up with Thomas." I said with a smirk.

"Oh No... A half Dresden, that's all I need. That and Justine would scratch my eyes out. No thank you. I'd sooner date Butters." She said with a distasteful shiver.

"I'll have to tell him you said that. He'd be flattered you'd pick him over Thomas. You may get valentines chocolates..." I said teasing her.

"Don't you Dare!" She said throwing her napkin at me.

"Daddy... Is it time to go home now?" a small soft voice said from my side. Looking down Simone was still sleeping and had a gentle smile on her face, dreaming of being with her parents. I put my arm around her shoulders, over the duster to keep her warm as Murphy sighed with and gathered her purse.

"I think she's right Harry, it's time to go..."

I paid the bill, leaving a pile of bills on the table. Then I carefully scooped Simone into my arms, pulling my duster over her to keep her warm before pushing open the door to head into the cold night.


	5. Chapter 5

Uncle Harry

**Chapter 5**

When I arrived home I found Thomas's car parked against the curb across the street. I pulled the truck into the driveway and drove past the side of the house, parking in front of the garage which was doing double duty as my workshop and man cave. I stopped carefully so as not to disturb the softly snoozing Simone. I killed the engine while setting the emergency brake and then slid out of the truck and motioned for Thomas to join me.

Thomas stepped out of the low sleek vehicle, showing a grace that was worthy of the red carpet. The door quietly clicked closed a moment before the lights flashed and an electronic set of quick beeps came from the vehicle. He strode across the street and stopped short on the edge of the sidewalk. He gave me an expectant and irritated look as he neared my yard.

"Wards?" He said softly, As I was scooping Simone into my arms carefully. I turned my head and whispered a word with a push of intention and power opening the wards for him. Simone nuzzled against me, under the duster as I walked to the back door with Thomas quickly closing the distance. I noticed the remnants of the Pizza 'Spress boxes, neatly stacked next to the trash can as I carefully opened the door.

I had just stepped inside when Thomas came half jogging into the room. Seeing Simone in my arms he nodded and whispered to me. "What happened? After you left four detectives caught me as I was trying to leave and questioned me about you, Lash and Simone for about an hour." He said sounding irritated.

"Give me a second. Make yourself useful and make some coffee." I whispered back taking Simone into the guest room and laying her back onto the bed and pulling the comforter over her. I left her door slightly ajar as I left. I doubted anything would happen, but it'd been one of those days.

I went to the kitchen to find Thomas leaning against the counter with a scowl.

"So what happened?" I asked, grabbing the coffee pot off the stove.

"Just what I said, they grilled me for an hour or so, asking all kinds of questions about you three. I told them the truth as much as I could, the rest I either didn't answer or gave them half truths." He said grabbing an envelope from his pocket and handing it to me. "Harry, what did you do to piss them off so much?"

I stepped over to the sink and disassembled the old style perk coffee pot and emptied the basket into the kitchen trash can.

"So what exactly did you tell them?" I asked.

"Well, that you two are dating and living together, working together at your P.I. business. That Simone ran off from school for some reason and has offered to pay you with money from her trust fund after you found her. I told them that I didn't know what the job was or what had scared her. I told them that you'd tracked me down as her guardian and I approved." He said in one long breath. "Oh and she's staying with you to keep things under the radar of the press."

"okay, that works." I said putting a filter into the rinsed basket and reassembling it, then adding coffee to the basket before putting it back into the pot fill of water.

"When they stopped me they weren't in the best of moods. What did you do?" He asked more curious and less accusatory than before.

"When I found Simone, the detectives were intererogating her and she was nearly hysterical, scared and sobbing. I intervened..." I said putting the pot on the stove and snapping my fingers as I whispered 'Flickum Bickus" to the wood in the stove and watched the fire slowly slide down the kindling and larger pieces of wood before closing the door to the fire box.

"You used your words to stop them, not... You know?" He said moving his hands and weaving his fingers in the air, trying to look mystical.

"No, I didn't use magic. I simply told them that if they wanted to make me leave I was taking the girl with me, but I wasn't going to leave her with them." I said with a shrug. "I guess they didn't like my tone of voice. Then I had a nice chat with a Detective Grisham and it's all good for now." I said mostly honestly.

Thomas shook his head with a smirk. "You do have a way with people."

Just as the coffee started to perk a cuckoo clock started frantically going off. I gave Thomas a serious look as I pulled my blasting rod from my duster, "We have unexpected guests." I told him, stepping to the pantry and grabbing a pair of pearl handled 45's with extra clips attached to the belt holsters and tossed them to Thomas. He shoved the clips into his back pockets and let the holster drop to the floor as he pulled the slides back and released the safety.

"You watch the back I'm going to get Simone." I said racing past him, into the hall.

"I'll watch your back, we'll both go for the girl." He said sternly, watching the back door and following me into the hallway. Given the tone I wouldn't have argued with him normally, but given the situation I didn't have time to debate the issue anyway.

There were loud bangs on the front and back doors as if a battering ram had slammed into them. Given that Michael had special ordered those doors and hung them himself, it would take at least a few blows with a SWAT battering ram to open those doors. I shook out my shield bracelet and pushed some power into it as we rushed across the living room as screams started coming from the guest room.

I kicked the door open and leveled my rod into the mostly dark room. The windows were intact but there was a group of two men trying to force the window open. Simone looked from the men to me with a terrified look on her face and sprang from the bed, running as fast as her feet would carry her. I moved her between Thomas and I, making sure she was behind my duster.

The men were wearing all black, they had masks over their faces, leather gloves on their hands and bullet proof vests over their chests. Given the look of their body armor and the weapons they had at their sides, I assumed this was a well funded group and they meant business.

I pushed my anger and intentions into the wards round the window as they tried harder to breach their way into my house. "Repellium, Electrus" I said in a low tone. The window itself seemed to shimmer an electric blue color as small bright bluish white fingers of electricity leapt from the window and surrounding wall to the intruders. The first bolt surprised them and worked nearly as effectively as a Taser, the next bolt was much bigger and brighter. A loud POP could be heard, sounding like a large firecracker as each man was hit in the chest and thrown back away from the house and into the front hard. Small columns of smoke rising from their vests as they lay there twitching and convulsing.

I heard someone yell 'Clear' from the back of the house and turned in time to see my backdoor blasted into splinters. The smell of the chemical explosive filled the air and a small canister was tossed through the doorway. It was about the size of a can of cooking spray but twice as thick and painted black. It was about two feet inside the door as I was pulling my duster around Simone when Thomas's pistol barked loudly, hitting the canister. It spun back the way it had come spinning wildly as the pressurized smoke left a thin cloud of gray smoke in it's wake.

His pistols barked three more times, splintering the door frame and putting holes in the drywall around the doorway. Screams of anger and pain came with each shot as he moved toward the empty door frame, guns leveled and gleaming while a smoke trickled from the barrels.

I ushered Simone to the middle of the room and kicked back the area rug to reveal a silver circle that had been crafted into the floor. I moved her into the center of the circle and stepped out. "Don't move and Do Not cross this line." I told her as I reached down and touched the circle bringing a full half globe shield up and pushing a lot of power into the spell. "You'll be safe here, just stay put until I get you." I said tapping the shield sending faint silvery circles around the half globe, as if it were made of a thin layer of water. Simone looked scared and her eyes were glassy but she sat down in the center of the circle and nodded to me.

The banging on the front door seemed to have stopped and there were shocked and angry voices coming from my porch. As Thomas fired another three shots into the backyard I leveled my blasting rod and moved my open hand across my body making a fist as it got to my side. I raised my shield and pushed anger and rage into my blasting rod. The runes glowed a bright orange as the front door unlatched itself and swung open quickly.

To my surprise there were three four men just off the steps to my porch. Two were on the ground trying to crawl away from the house. Their shoe laces were tied together and their vest and shirts kept pulling forward to cover their heads as rocks and sticks pelted their legs and backsides. The other two were covering their faces and frantically trying to defend themselves from dozens flying rose bush stems and small to midsized sticks that were circling and diving into their heads and necks.

A small but familiar voice came from my right side, "The enemy is in full retreat, Sir. Shall we finish them off?" Toot asked from under his veil.

I smiled and shook my head, "No need General, I'll take it from here. Call your troops off, I don't want any collateral damage." I said grimly stepping onto the porch.

Toot sheathed his letter opener swords and put his fingers to his lips blowing a high pitched whistle and vanished. The branches dropped to the ground and the last of the rocks pelted the two on the ground and everything went quiet. The men lowered their arms, looking around confused. They stopped when they saw me, the light from the house shining around me. They reached for their missing sidearm's with a panicked look on their faces.

"This may sting a little." I said angrily as I sent a softball sized ball of force into each of them. The two standing simply crumpled to the ground. The two on the ground already, squirmed and shrieked as they were thrown forward and onto their faces. They rolled onto their sides grunting and gasping, their hands covering one of the few spots their body armor didn't cover.

"They'll be down for a while." Thomas said over my shoulder. "The other three ran off, but at least two of them have pretty bad wounds and big bruises on their chests and backs." He said glancing back at Simone. "How do you plan to explain this to her?" He asked softly.

"I'll just tell her the truth."

"That works, I guess." He said with a shrug. "Being a part of the White Court she'll find out sooner or later. I was hoping for later, but I suppose it can't be helped."

"You mean IF she becomes a member of the White Court, don't you?" I asked pointedly.

"It's possible for some people to resist their inner demon if they are prepared for it, when the time comes. However, explicit instructions have been given to every member of the White Court to not tell her anything about who she is. That's part of why she'd attending that school. It's private, secure and the girls only get visits from certain people on an 'approved list'." Thomas finished.

"So you're going to let her.." I asked shocked.

"It's out of my hands Harry. There's nothing I can do." He said shaking his head sadly.

"So why is she so damned important to the White Court?" I asked softly, sending another round of fast balls into the four intruders.

"Harry, trust me if I could tell you I would." Thomas said with a pained look on his face.

"Thomas, if it affects you and her, then it's my business. I'm not going to stop until you tell me something." I said in a hushed tone so as not to be overheard, taking a step onto the porch.

"Harry, I'm telling you..." Thomas said with a tired sigh, following me outside. "Her being the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter of the Silver Queen, is none of your business. I'm not saying another word about it!" Thomas said with a wink.

"Fine, don't tell me then." I said wondering what his clue meant.

"Why don't you go to your car and call Murphy. I'll move these guys to the garage." I said pulling some zip ties from my duster pocket. Thomas nodded and jogged towards his car.

I bound their wrists and gathered them together and moved them, albeit slowly to the garage. I sat them against the walls and bound their ankles. Questioning each of them as I went from one to the next.

"Who hired you?" I asked using my blasting rod as a taser on the first one.

"Look, we don't know who hired us. We just got orders today and did what we were told." The skinny, nervous looking mercenary sitting next in line offered quickly.

"Okay then, who do you work for?"

"A Security company out of New York. Most of us have been working overseas and rotated back to the states for some down time and easy money." Said the stocky olive skin one to my left. He was maybe 6' 1" tall, he had a Brooklyn accent and was maybe twenty-three. None of these guys were over 25.

"What were your orders then?" I asked tazing the bulky blond guy who was squirming too much for my liking.

"The girl, we were to grab the girl. That's all! We were told she was with some crazy PI guy. It was supposed to be a smash and grab, nobody was supposed to even get hurt." the nervous one said watching the muscular blond twitch, his eyes rolled back in his head.

"What were you going to do with the girl?" I asked strapping the nervous guy's ankles together.

"Take her to some school and hand her over to some administrator." He said being very helpful and holding his feet together for me.

"Naa.. It was a teacher. Mr. Aber-something..." The Brooklyn kid said correcting his buddy.

"Shaddup, you two!" Said the 25 year old making me think he was from the South. "You gonna give him your mamma's age and bra size too?" He drawled.

"Why would I do that?" asked the Brooklyn kid.

"Because you talk too much." Spat the older one.

"Hey, I've seen his Mom and he won't even tell me." Said the nervous guy with a forced smile, hoping to change the subject.

I finished binding the group and turned to see Thomas standing outside the side garage door. He was leaning against the wall just outside listening carefully.

"I'll watch these guys, why don't you go to Simone? I bet she's scared and tired of sitting in that circle." He said stepping inside.

"Just don't kill them, the last thing I need is the coroner out here tonight."

"But maiming is okay, right?" He asked giving the helpless men a vicious glare.

"I suppose, but only in self defense." I replied standing and appraising the people who were until recently shooting up my house. "Bruises and small cuts are fine though." I said turning and heading inside.

As I came into the living room I could see Simone, scared and curled up into a ball sobbing softly. Her long brown hair was disheveled and covering her face, her shoulders shaking and soft whimpers and sobs softly filling the room.

"It's okay now. They're all gone." I said lowering the shield and kneeling close to her.

She sat up and threw her arms around my neck, tears, snot and probably a little slobber greeted my cheek and neck as she fell into me, crying even harder now. I hugged her gently and patted her back. I tried to think of a time when something like this happening wasn't a normal part of life for me.

"You're fine now Simone, everyone's fine. The police are on their way to take the bad men to jail." I told her softly.

"Lash isn't." She sniffed, her tears now running down the side of my face and trickling down my neck.

"Lash is a strong woman. You don't think she'll let something silly like stray bullet keep her down do you?" I asked, wondering that myself and not wanting to let Simone see my concern.

"It's my fault..." She whimpered softly, trembling in my arms.

"None of this is your fault Simone." I said probably a little more firmly than I should have. "Listen to me sweetheart, bad thing happen sometimes." I said moving her back and looking into her face. "You've done nothing wrong. They, the people back at your school, the men who tried to break into my house, THEY are the bad ones and They caused this trouble. You just got caught up in something that shouldn't have been happening in the first place. In face, because of you we may be able to save your roommate and the other girls." I said wiping her cheek and fishing a handkerchief from my pocket. As I shook it open a bright golden light filled the room and the room had a feint scent of summer.

"Harry, what was that?" She asked amazed taking the cloth and wiping her eyes before blowing her nose. She still looked traumatized but the guilt seemed to be slowly leaving her face.

"It was sunshine. I can collect it in white linen handkerchiefs. Because, I'm a Wizard." I told her honestly. "You must have guessed something was up by now." I said pointing to the silver inlaid circle.

"I saw some strange things when Lash was fighting those men, but I wasn't sure what it was or what happened..." She said looking a little confused.

"You probably saw her shield spell, like this one..." I said tapping the circle. "How the bullets bounced off it and everything else?" I asked.

"Yes." She said remembering the fight from earlier.

"We're both Wizards Simone. We'll both help you I promise you." I said softly.

"Can't you just zap them all then?" She asked curiously. "Just get rid of all the bad guys?"

"Wizards don't use magic to kill unless we absolutely have to, especially not people." I said seriously. Granted vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures had a lower bar especially when they are attacking you, but overall I didn't like to kill when it could be avoided.

"Then, could I... be a wizard too? Can you teach me?" Simone asked softly but determinedly.

"I don't think you're a wizard Simone. Some people are just born able to use the power, others not. I could teach you a little but without any power to back it up it'd be very difficult for you." I told her. "You're special in your own way Simone. You're not a wizard but you're still important and very special." I told her.

"I am?" She asked her eyes getting big. "How am I special, Harry? What am I?" she asked intrigued.

"You're a beautiful, sweet, kind girl." I told her, brushing the hair from her eyes. "It's who you are that makes people special, not powers or money. That's why you're special, don't ever forget that." She smiled and sniffed away the last remaining tear as blue and red lights filled the room. Police cars pulling down to my garage and lining up along the curb.

"Thank you for protecting me Harry." She said giving me a peck on the cheek before standing up and straightening her clothes.

It was a few seconds later that Murphy and Rawlings came in through the front door, looking around the room and checking the exits as they entered.

"Harry, are you two okay?" Murphy asked as Rawlings went to check the bedrooms.

"We're fine. The guys who attacked are in the garage with Thomas." I told her, pushing myself up to my feet.

"Care to tell me what happened?" She asked taking out her notebook.

I explained what happened in detail to Murphy, stopping as she scratched notes into her notebook and asked questions. Rawlings went outside to supervise the transport of the prisoners as we talked. We moved into the kitchen where I finally got my cup of coffee and mixed up some homemade hot cocoa under the supervision of Murphy for Simone. As the police cars started to pull away loaded with mercenaries and illegal weapons, Thomas and Rawlings returned to the kitchen and pulled up a chair.

"I think we have just about all we need for now, Harry." Murphy said putting away her notebook. "I can have a couple of black and whites watch your house for the night if you like." she offered out of obligation.

"I don't think that's necessary. Mercenaries Union is pretty strict about one raid per night." I told her with a tired smile. We stood and I shook Rawlings hand, thanking him for his help and turned to Murphy, who gave a quick glance to Simone, who was laughing with Thomas.

"Harry, do you have a second?" She asked tilting her head towards the living room.

"Sure Murph." I said following her into the living room.

"First that thing with Lash, now this? What's going on? Why do they want her so badly?" Murphy asked looking concerned and confused.

"Whatever she stumbled across, it's got to be something big." I said softly, glancing over my shoulder as Thomas did Magic tricks for Simone.

"That's not all, the guys we picked up from the incident with Lash are dead." Murphy said with a raised eyebrow. "The doctors said it looks like they aged about a hundred years in about ten minutes. Almost like Magic... You don't think.. subconsciously maybe, Lash could have..?" Murphy said trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

"No, that's not possible. Magic takes control and intention, it's not something you could do in your sleep, I don't care who you are." I said shaking my head. "Besides, that kind of magic... It sounds like necromancy, but I haven't heard of any talented practitioners. If I had the Wardens would have had a chat with them about it by now. Then again, it could be the Black Court, but I seriously doubt one of them could walk into the hospital unnoticed." I told her running down the list of possibilities in my head.

"Also, Harry, about Simone. If she's a Raith then... Should I be concerned?" She asked glancing compassionately at Simone.

"No, she's just a little girl. The demon doesn't come out until later." I told her.

"Her first sexual encounter, right?" She asked quietly.

"Something like that. If she is in Love with someone then that kills the demon, if not then the demon tries to take over when she's week and in the throes of passion." I explained as I understood the process of becoming a White Court vampire.

"Hopefully that won't be for a few years." Murphy said with a relieved sigh.

"Hopefully..." I replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Uncle Harry Chapter 6

_**AN:**__ I made a promise to a friend to have this out before October, so I made a solid effort to get this done. However, reading the first chapter or two it felt rushed so I tried to take my time with this chapter. I'm hoping I was successful with more than just beating the deadline. :) Also I may go back and do some minor rewrites on some of the earlier chapters to add more depth try to smooth it out a little. However, I'll try to hold off on the rework until I finish the story. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, please read, enjoy and feel free to add feedback in the reviews. _

The elderly fat man hurried down the stone passage, his sandals slapping on the cold ancient stones. The sweat ran down his face from under the thick, rough cotton hood of his robes. His chubby belly and chest were sweating from the exertion making the heavy scratchy robes even more miserable than before. He was panting as he turned the corner and slowed his pace trying to catch his breath as he walked quickly to the chamber door and knocked twice firmly.

The torch set into the wall burned brightly as the knocks echoed down the hallway. The man stood silently waiting for a reply, fidgeting and tugging at his clothes.

"Enter." came the gravelly voice from the other side of the door. The not quite human sounding bass voice made his skin crawl and sent fear into his chest as he obediently reached forward to open the rough hewn wooden doors. The iron hinges made a grinding sound as the doors opened stiffly. The light from the hallway spilled into the dimly lit room, the smell of incents and dead flesh wafted out of the room and the heavy set man pushed forward into the room. He took only a few steps in before dropping to one knee and placing his right palm flat on the ground.

"My Lord, I bring news." He said, trying to keep the fear and anxiety out of his voice. He stared at the stone floor both to show respect and also to avoid looking upon the visage of his master. He had served his master for the last three years, exchanging knowledge and training for helping his master recover and doing the odd jobs that were necessary to gather the resources needed to restore his master.

"Abram, it's not like you to visit me in the middle of the day." His master replied with a feigned surprise. "What's this news you speak of? I sincerely hope, for your sake that it's something I want to hear. Like that you've recovered the stray little girl..." His voice trailed off sounding harder and colder than before as it trailed off. The older man took a deep breath to steel his nerve before speaking.

"We had found her sir, but we were unable to recover her. It seems she's that some people are protecting her, and they are strong." Abram said and then quickly continued. "However, one was shot and is in the hospital, the other had a friend show up unexpectedly when we tried to assault the home. The home was protected with magic and they were well armed." He was about to continue when he felt the tip of a whip cutting into his right shoulder. The bite from the whip stopped him in mid sentence and caused the arm he was leaning on to buckle. Abram fell with a clatter to the old thick stone floor. The cold and moisture making the dirt gritty as it rubbed against his cheek and jaw.

"You told me you were sending in a competent team. They could take down a dictator, you had said. Yet now," His master howled in rage and disbelief striking out again, the whip finding the center of his back this time, cutting through the fabric and into the apprentices soft flesh. "You come to me telling me that two men stood off your entire assault team?"

"It seems that they were ready for an attack sir. I don't know how they could have known we were coming, but the exterior of the house was rigged with traps and they had large caliber weapons. From what our man said, they were unbelievably fast and I believe one was a practitioner. A very powerful one at that." Abram whimpered as he tried to push himself up to his knees, his shoulder and back welling with blood from the whips insults. The sting still fresh on both wounds.

"A practitioner or a Wizard?" the hooded figure asked, his boney fingers tapping the wooden table in front of him. Small pieces of flesh fell from his fingers, the bone at the tips exposed as it drummed against the wood. The two red glowing spots seemed to get brighter as his master gazed upon Abram.

"Wizard, he seemed to be a wizard sir!" Abram said anxiously wondering if he'd receive another lash from his master.

"That's very interesting." His master mused, leaning back in the huge overstuffed chair. "His companion, the one you shot, describe them for me."

"It was a young woman sir. Mid twenties with long blond hair. She may be a wizard as well. The men reported that she was incredibly strong and their bullets seemed to bounce away from her and the child." Abram continued.

"The man, was he tall and lanky. Was he perhaps wearing a long leather duster?" The master asked sounding amused and annoyed at the same time.

"They said he wore an overcoat, but it may very well have been a duster sir."

"So it's them..." the master cackled to himself. His scratch dry voice made the laughter all the more ominous as it echoed in the large stone room. "This is earlier than I'd hoped for but at least I won't have to go looking for him later." The figure leaned back exposing part of his face, the skin was cracked and dry where skin covered his face. Part of his jaw and mouth were missing skin completely and the bone and dead muscles were visible along with a good portion of his teeth. This made his smile all the more macabre and Sinister. "How many of your men returned?"

"Two sir. Three were chased off and one died on the way back, another is seriously injured but the third has only minor wounds. The rest were captured and turned over to the police." Abram replied sheepishly, sitting on his haunches and keeping his head down. "I've called for our doctor to tend to the wounded."

"That won't be necessary. Bring them to me. Use the skill I taught you to dominate their minds and march them to me." The master said from under the heavy cowl, there was a smirk in his voice and then he waved his decaying hand at Abram to send him away. "and Abram, bring the second group of girls to the room tonight, it seems I should step things in case I need to greet our new friends anytime soon."

"As you say sir!" The older heavyset man bowed his head and then quickly got up and scurried out of the room pulling the doors closed behind him.

Abram headed back down the hallway, rubbing his shoulder. He smiled a toothy smile as he headed to gather the two who had returned unsuccessfully. Their screw up had saved him from having to try to gather fresh body parts for his master to use to patch his dead, but slowly regenerating body back together. He hoped that perhaps this time there would be enough left over to construct a complete skeleton or maybe a complete body. Abram was currently working on reanimating thing but squirrels and small pets were one thing, if he could animate and control a human body... Abrams feet moved faster and his shoulder seemed to hurt less as he neared the stairs leading to the room where the two soldiers were waiting for him.

There was a buzzing in the old ear piece as the phone rang. "Come on.. come on.. where are you grasshopper?" I thought to myself as it rang again.

"Carpenter residence, Alicia speaking." came the voice on the other end.

"Alicia, it's Harry Dresden. Is Molly home?" I asked frantically.

"No, sorry Mr. Dresden, she's out for the morning." Alicia said matter of factly. How could she be out this morning of all mornings?!

"Alicia, is your mother there?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh yes, she's home." Alicia said sweetly, then moved the receiver only a few inches from her mouth before yelling at the top of her lungs, "MOM.. Phone! It's Mr. Dresden..." My ear was ringing as I quickly moved the receiver from my ear. Then there was a soft click.

"Hello? I have it, you can hang up now Alicia." Charity Carpenters voice said sounding a every inch a mother. The line clicked again and the static and background noise on the line went away.

"Charity, I'm sorry to bother you but I need a favor." I said hurriedly, the stress and desperation coming through in my voice.

"Harry? What's wrong? What do you need?" Charity asked sounding concerned and serious.

"Panties, I need panties and I didn't know who else to ask besides you." I said honestly. Then there was a brief and uncomfortable pause.

"Harry, I'll be talking with Michael about this conversation shortly, so I suggest you think about what you're going to tell him." She said sounding furious.

"Not YOUR panties! I need little girl panties." I said trying to clarify.

"I'm hanging up now." She said in a cold heartless tone.

"No! It's for Simone. The little girl staying with me. Lash is in the hospital and we're going to pick her up but she doesn't have any... you know, underwear.." I explained quickly into the phone receiver.

"Go on..." Charity said in a cold but somewhat more tolerant voice.

"Simone is in the bath tub, we're going to get Lash today. When I was laying out her clothes I was able to find everything but... those. I can't let her go outside commando and I can't leave the house to go buy some with her in the tub. So I was hoping you could lend her a pair of your daughters until I can get her more or find out where Lash has put them." I said totally out of my element. I'd rather be fighting a mob of trolls with a few ghouls mixed in instead of having this conversation, but this is what the situation called for and I wasn't going to fail.

"I see. You should have said that in the first place." Charity said in a firm tone, the fury dissipating slowly. "How old is she?"

"She's ten. About the same size as Amanda, but a little smaller." I said approximating as best as I could.

"I'll have run a pair over for you. Is there anything else she needs? Does she need a slip, socks or tights?" Charity asked.

"No I've got those covered. One question though, does she need socks with tights or is that overkill?" I asked scratching my head.

"She doesn't need them... but if she's wearing proper shoes for the snow, it wouldn't hurt. It could help keep her feet warm and avoid blisters if you do it right." Charity replied thoughtfully, then paused. "On second thought I'll bring over the things and help her get dressed." Charity said in one of those, "I've made up my mind" tones that subtly told me not to object.

"I hate to put you out but if you have the time I'd greatly appreciate it." I said feeling my body becoming a little more relaxed.

"Just have her wait in the tub until I get there. I'm heading over now." Charity said as if giving orders to her minions.

"I'll get breakfast started then." I said happily.

"You had her bath before eating?" Charity asked with a snicker in her voice.

"Well ya... Why not?" I asked confused.

"With children under 13 it's best to let them eat first in their pajamas and THEN bathing and dressing them in the clothes you want them in for the rest of the day. Accidents happen and if you have to stop to clean her up and change her clothes, it can totally throw off your schedule for the day and you're probably going to wash their pajamas anyway so it just makes sense. Especially if you're going to the doctors or dentists. Somehow accidents seem to happen most often on days when shots or drills are involved." Charity said in a knowing voice. "Try to make something that's not messy, runny and won't stain if it drops on her clothes. Maybe scrambled eggs and toast." Charity suggested.

Thinking about what she said it was obvious she'd given a lot of thought into keeping her schedule on track and avoiding pitfalls by ordering her day. No wonder she seemed so strict to her kids, it was all part of the plan. Charity Carpenter not only had her daily routines down pat to optimize time but also to avoid any unwanted delays wherever possible. My respect for her grew deeper as I realized just how much energy she put into making sure things ran smoothly for her family. I also felt embarrassed at how I thought she was overly strict at times, as I suddenly understood the care and consideration she took when dealing with her kids. I couldn't help but wonder how many years it would be until her kids truly understood this as well.

"Scrambled eggs, I'm on it!" I said enthusiastically.

"Okay then. I'm on my way then." she said and hung up the phone.

I went to the door of the guest bathroom and stood next to it, knocking twice lightly.

"Simone, how are you doing in there?" I asked hearing the rubber ducky squeaking.

"Fine, I'm almost done. Do you want me to get out now?" She asked sounding happy as I heard more splashing coming from the bath.

"No, that's fine. Just finish up and then relax for a few minutes. A friend of mine's coming over with some things for you." I said calmly.

"Things for me?" Simone asked curiously.

"Clothes and she'll help you get ready." I said trying to sound positive.

"Um.. okay." Simone said softly. "You know I can dress myself, right?" She asked dryly. "I'm not a little kid."

"I know. Just hang tight for a little bit." I told her reassuringly.

"Okay." She responded with a skeptical tone.

I was finishing up chopping the ham when there was a knock at my door. I set the knife aside and headed to the door. As I got near I dropped the wards since no alarms had gone off. I opened the door to find Charity Carpenter on my doorstep, her pink cheeks and blond hair seemed to glow in the cold mornings sun. I quickly stepped aside holding the door for her.

"Come in." I said as she quickly stepped through the doorway. I closed the door after her quickly as I felt the chill morning air against my cheeks.

"It's a chilly one out this morning." Charity said rubbing the arms of her knit sweater. "We'll want to be sure to bundle her up."

"Thank you for your help. Monsters and scary things I can deal with. Little girls are a little out of my comfort zone." I said scratching the side of my head.

"Harry, don't tell me she has you flummixed?"

"I'm just not used to it I guess. I've never been a parent and have only babysat a few times, if you can call it that." I said, remembering the time I tried to take on the Carpenter brood to give Michal and Charity a date night. Charity must have been thinking the same thing as she was looking at me with a knowing smile.

"It's fine Harry, is she still in the tub?" She asked.

"Yes, the guest bath." I said indicating the door across the living room and just down the hall.

"Well then, leave it to me." Charity said pushing me towards the kitchen and then heading down to the bathroom.

I returned to the kitchen and now that the stove was up to heat, I put the heavy iron pan on the burner and added butter and some onions and peppers with a pinch of salt to get things started. I'm not a great cook by any means, but the Denver omelet's with 9 grain toast were a work of art, if I do say so myself. I was just setting the small glasses of orange juice and one regular glass of milk and one cup of coffee on the table as Charity and Simone came into the kitchen.

"My but don't we look nice this morning?" I said giving a short bow to Simone as she beamed at me and twirled in her blue and white dress. The dress was a nice floral print with long sleeves and the hem came to her knees, under this she wore blue tights and tennis shoes with the lacey white ankle socks. Her bangs had been braided on either side and pulled back and tied with a white ribbon, the ends hanging down several inches from the lavish bow. I gave Charity a thankful smile.

"Would you like to join us?" I asked Charity, starting to pull out a chair for her.

"Thanks, but no. I've left my kids alone too long already. Alicia can be a slave driver and I'm guessing I have about ten minutes until little Harry has a meltdown." She said with a smile on her face indicating she was only half joking.

"Well I'm sorry to have bothered you, but thanks for your help!"

"Thank you for doing my hair! It's so pretty!" Simone beamed up at Charity.

"Well you're both welcome. Oh, Harry, you should bring Simone over later today after school and let her play with Alicia and hope. A play date might be fun for them and give Lash some quiet time." Charity said thinking ahead. "Oh and don't worry about dinner, we'll send over a casserole." Charity said with a wave as she made her way towards the door.

"She's a nice lady." Simone said looking up at me and slipping into the chair I had pulled out. I moved the plate and glasses in front of her and tucked a cloth napkin into her collar that also covered half her lap. Mouse took up his resident spot under the table as we ate, hoping for hand outs or dropped food.

Once we had finished our meal, I filled the dog's mixing bowl with kibble and another with water and told him to keep an eye on the place. With that I bundled up Simone in a scaft, mittens and warm jacket and I were off to pick up Lash.

As we drove through the cold winters morning I could see fog still rising from the ground as the suns warmth melted some of the frost from the yards and sidewalks. The streets were dry from the mornings traffic and we were just making our way through the tail end of the morning commute as we made our way downtown. Simone was watching the trees and street lamps flit by with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Uncle harry? Do you think Auntie Lash will have a scar?" She asked sounding concerned.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. She heals fast and with her herbal creams, I'm sure if she has one, it won't last long." I told her with a reassuring smile. Simone smiles and looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Good, I'm glad." She said with a look on her face like a weight had just been lifted from her tiny shoulders.

With that we pulled into Cook County Hospitals parking lot. It took us a few minutes to find a parking spot and we had to walk farther than I'd liked to get to the hospital but as we entered the warm air was soothing on my nearly frozen nose.

I stopped at the front desk and got Lash's room number from the nurse on duty. She was a cute strawberry blond with a modest figure and still had the blush of youth on her cheeks. She smiled warmly at Simone.

"Is your Mommy getting out of the hospital today?" She asked Simone.

"My Auntie." Simone corrected her.

"Well you be sure to be a big helper for her then, alright?" the nurse said giving her a meaningful smile.

"I will." Simone said in a determined voice and took my hand.

We turned and headed down the hall way, up a couple of flights of stairs and down another few halls before we came to her room. The door was ajar as a nurse was clearing away the breakfast tray from her room. I pulled the door open and could see Lash gazing out the window as Simone let go of my hand and raced into the room.

"Auntie Lash, are you feeling better?" She asked as nearly skidded to a stop next to Lash's bed.

Lash turned with a surprised look on her face and smiled at Simone, then at me. I swear in that moment I could smell the warm breeze of spring time as I looked at her. I couldn't help but smile back and joined Simone at Lash's bedside.

"I'm feeling 100% better, now that you two are here!" Lash told Simone, sliding her hand over her cheek and smiling at her. Simone just beamed up at her, relieved to hear it from Lash herself.

"Mister Dresden. Do you have a moment?" came the gravely bass voice from the doorway. I stopped smiling and turned to see Detective Grisham with a serious look on his face. He'd called me Mr. Dresden instead of Mr. Wizard or Wack-a-doodle, so that was something.

I nodded to him and turned to Lash and Simone. "I need to talk to him for a little bit. Simone can you keep Lash company until I come back?" I asked patting her on the head.

"Sure, Uncle Harry." She said giving the detective a weary look.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't you two run off on me now." I said winking at Lash.

"I don't know. You breeze out of the room without so much as a handshake and expect a pretty lady to wait for you? Pretty sure of yourself huh?" Lash said with a wicked smile. I leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"That'll have to do for now." I said giving her hand a squeeze before turning and heading out the door with the detective.

I followed the detective down the hall and into a small room, possibly the nurses break room as it had a small table and chairs as well as a counter with a coffee pot and paper cups next to boxes of sugar, non-sugar sweetener and powdered cream. I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a handful of sugar packets before taking the chair across from the detective.

"So detective Grisham, what can I do for you?" I asked as I poured three sugar packets at once into my coffee.

"You heard about the two thugs from yesterday? They died in an unnatural manner." Grisham said with a troubled look on his face.

"Yeah I heard that. Something about them dying of old age?" I said remembering what Murphy had told me.

"I also heard you had some excitement last night." He said sipping the thick hot coffee with a scowl.

"I had some uninvited visitors who caused a ruckus." I replied not sure what he was getting at.

"Did you also hear that we found two more bodies, dressed in body armor and shriveled up like mummies? We were able to ID them from dental records, the oldest one was 25." He said looking at me with knitted eyebrows. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"No, this is the first I've heard of it." I told him honestly, taking a sip of the hospital coffee. "It sounds like you have a real mystery on your hands here Detective."

"Mysteries I don't mind. It's how they died that bothers me. The coroner said there's no explanation he could offer from medical science." The detective said giving me a meaningful look.

"Are you asking for my help?" I asked not sure what he was getting at.

"I got a call from the Chief this morning, he had got a call from the Mayor. They want answers and nobody seems to have any." he said swirling his coffee in his cup. "I don't suppose you have any theories."

"I have a couple but they aren't anything you'd want to hear though and definitely nothing you'd want the Mayor to hear." I told him.

"Murphy swears you're on the level and Rawlings vouches for you too. Murphy takes after her old man. I never liked him much, but she and Rawlings have earned my respect and that of the cops they work with. So if they say you're on the level, I'm willing to listen." The detective said staring at his cup.

"All I have is speculation right now. If you want answers I'd need to see the bodies."

"Fine, that can be arranged. Would you be willing to take a look off the books?" He asked.

"Normally I get a fee for working with the department. But this time, they came after my girlfriend and a little girl. I'll do this one for free." I told him leaning back in my chair.

"If we work together, you do it my way. No cowboy stuff, we do it by the book!" He said in a tone that would make a lesser man wince.

"Now you sound like Murphy." I told him with a wry smile. "Fine, we'll try it your way. I won't go looking for trouble, but if they take a swing at me or them, I'm not holding back." I said glancing in the direction of Lash's room.

"Somehow I don't believe you, but I'll take you at your word until you break it." He said giving me a hard look as if to say it'd be best for us both if I kept my word. "I'm giving you a chance, don't make me regret it."

"I'll try to live up to your expectations." I told him returning the hard look.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." He said putting down his coffee cup.


	7. Chapter 7

Uncle Harry

Chapter 7

I took a few minutes to explain to Lash what was going on while Det. Grisham took Simone to get some snacks and drinks from the vending machine downstairs. After talking to Lash and the nurse we found that she was to be released in a few hours but had to wait for the doctor and administrator to arrange and bring in her release paperwork.

I was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding Lash's hand when Simone and the detective returned.

"I'll be back soon so don't go taking off without me." I teased lash and patted Simone on the top of the head. Simone giggled and Lash gave me a sweet smile and a nod.

Then looking at Simone she grinned, "That's fine, we have girl talk to get to. I wasn't sure how to get rid of you so we could chat, so this works out great!" Lash took Simone's hand and gave her a warm smile and Simone giggled harder.

"I just hope it's not about me." I said softly to myself as I closed the door behind me.

"The bodies are here in the morgue, I've let them know that we're coming to take a look at the bodies." Detective Grisham said in a matter of fact tone. "Try not to do too much talking when the attendants and doctors are around, about the theoretical stuff I mean." He said in a more confidential tone as he turned right and I turned left.

"Where are you going? The elevators are over here." The detective said jerking his thumb towards the hallway to the right.

"True enough, but the stairs are to the left." I said lifting my hand to the left as if to usher him down the hall.

"Stairs? We're on the fourth floor, the morgue two floors underground. Why would we want to use the stairs?"

"Because electrical things and wizards don't go well together, so unless you'd like to get stuck in said elevator, we use the stairs." I explained.

His brows knotted for an instant then one rose as he clicked his tongue at me, skeptically. "Then I'll meet you at the morgue. Don't keep me waiting too long…" He said and turned to the right and began marching down the hall.

"Must be an old war wound…" I chuckled to myself seeing the awkward gait of the detective as he sauntered down the hallway.

I quickly turned and headed down the hall and navigated the maze of hallways and stairwells to get to the morgue. He was right it was 6 floors down to get to the morgue but on the first floor you had to cross to near the center of the building to get to the stairwell that headed to the subfloors and not the parking garages. The portly detective was sitting down as I entered the room.

"You made good time." He said seemingly impressed.

"You get used to it." I told him with a smirk.

"Harry?" a familiar voice came from the door to the autopsy area. "What are you doing here?" Butters asked confused.

"What am I doing here? What are You doing here?" I asked surprised. Butters is one of the county's medical examiners and typically worked out of an office farther downtown in a nondescript building.

"I was called in on this one since nobody else wanted to touch it." He said shaking his head looking somewhat defeated. "You know these cases that you're involved in aren't helping my career advancement." He said shaking his head and opening the door, waving us in.

The detective and I grabbed gloves and masks from the counter as we came inside. Butters took his place at one of the large stainless steel tables. The body that was on the table appeared to be that of a very old man, the skin was thin and papery, not to mention winkled and sagging. However, in contrast the hair on the head of the ancient looking body was jet black, short and spiky, the result of a lot of hair product typically used by younger men. The look of the corpse and hair together made me think of the black court vampires.

"This guy makes no medical sense what so ever." Butters said turning to the body. "According to his medical files he's 23 and in perfect health. His organ tissue is aged but don't show the typical signs of 90 years of abuse. The plaque buildup in his veins is that of a 23 year old, but they are as brittle and thin as that of a 90 year old man, possibly older." Butters said using his probe to point out various parts of interest. "To top that off, there are no drugs, poisons or other unexpected chemicals in his blood work." Butters finished, setting down his probe and turning to the detective and myself.

"Is there a chemical or biological weapon that might do this?" The detective asked.

"Not that I'm aware of and like I said his blood and tissues samples came back clean. If it were a bio-weapon I'd expect to at least see a high white cell count or signs of a fever, but that's not the case." Butters looked between the two of us while Det. Grisham rubbed his chin looking uneasy.

"Can I have a few minutes alone with the body?" I asked nodding towards the door.

"Why what are you going to do?" Det. Grisham asked in his default cop voice.

"The sort of thing you don't want to testify to in court or put in a report." I said thoughtfully, "This way if something nasty with horns and claws shows up and your boss's ask what happened, you can honestly say you don't know."

"Are you expecting something like that?" the detective asked skeptically.

"It's Harry Dresden; you always have to expect something ugly with fangs or claws to show up." Butters said with a bit of a bitter tone in his voice. "Harry, try to leave everything as you found it, and absolutely NO FIRE! I'm not kidding…" Butters said with a scowl on his face and unplugging his CD deck and laptop as he retrieved them.

"No worries, I'm not even going to use much active magic. I'll use just enough to check for magic and if there is any to identify what type. Nothing over the top or with flames, I promise." I gave butters an even stare and watched him back out of the room, followed by Det. Grisham with a slightly confused look on his face. Once they were out of the room Butters closed the door and then invited Det. Grisham to get coffee from the cafeteria upstairs.

Once they were gone I took a few seconds to clear my mind and draw in some power while doing some breathing exercises to calm my mind and body. I then extended my senses slowly, just touching the corpse I felt a cold tingly sensation that made my skin crawl and my stomach want to empty. He'd been touched by something fairly powerful and it wasn't from my side of the street. This was the residue of dark magic, malevolent, cruel and destructive. I got the sense like I was drowning in icy water. I felt my energy being drained away by the stinging cold that burned instead of numbing. I quickly pulled my energy back and shook off the creepy feeling, getting control of myself and my senses. This feeling was familiar, I'd felt it in the past on a job where some nut was trying to bring back an ancient deity and plunge the world into darkness. Up side was I got to ride a dinosaur during that case, but a friend of mine ended up in the body of a twenty something girl, which frankly you'd think she'd have been happy for. I'll never understand women.

Next, I removed my handkerchief from my pocket and carefully laid it over the chest of the corpse. I took a small plastic case from my duster pocket that contained various bits and bob's that I used for magical purposes. I selected a small vial of a tan powder, made from various dried herbs and lightly sprinkled some over the cloth. I closed my eyes and focused my intention on learning what type of magic was used and if possible who used it. I added power to my intention and compressed in into a little ball in my mind, then felt the power move down my right arm to my palm. When I opened my eyes there was a small bluish light about the size of a dime sitting in the center of my palm. It felt warm in my hand, seemingly made of a swirling mist that glowed gently, ready to do its job.

I turned my palm over and watched the ball fall slowly to the center of the cloth and the dissolve as the mist flowed over and through the material, stopping at the edges. It took on a more earthy tone for a moment as it interacted with the herbal powder, but then quickly turned black. The mist began to bubble as the black and purple mist swirled and twisted unnaturally over the cloth for a moment giving off a smell of rotting leaves and flesh as the mist consumed the cloth and the powder and then quickly disappeared. On the corpse there were leaf fragments and nearly a complete leaf, but all of the oils and nutrients that were left after drying were gone. The bits of leaf were brown and gray and brittle. It only took one breath to disintegrate the fragments and send their dust into the air.

I pulled some latex gloves from the bin on the wall and borrowed a pair of medical scissors and evidence bag from the tray. I took some hair and nail clippings from the corpse, hoping that I could use that to gather more information back at home in my makeshift lab in the garage.

If there was any doubt before, it was gone now. This was necromancy, which was what I'd suspected but I had really hoped I was wrong. There aren't too many practitioners of necromancy as the white council takes a very harsh line on such things and most who try to dabble in it don't live too long. However, somehow someone who seemed to know their stuff and was pretty powerful seemed to have gotten past their radar and ended up in my town of all places.

As I thought about it, Simone's story was starting to make sense. If I wanted to draw life energy for some reason, it'd be a lot less noticeable to take a little from a lot of people than to take a lot from one person. The corpse on the table in front of me illustrated what happens when too much is taken from one person, and the results are pretty hard to miss. This guy was a liability to his boss and the ME is more likely to write fiction in his report than tell the D.A. that the cause of death was black magic. I knew Butters and how he'd handled cases like this before so I'd expect him to write something like severe dehydration caused by a virulent e coli virus.

That and children tend to have an over abundance of life energy, just ask Charity Carpenter. So to draw a little from a group of them on a regular basis might make them seem tired or listless, maybe slow their physical development but that would be the extent of it. The symptoms wouldn't be anything unusual or too pronounced, especially at a boarding school where the adults don't pay that close attention to each child as a parent would at home.

The pieces started to fit together in my head which made me happy, but the picture that it was showing me was not a pretty one. Then I thought of Simone, scared and alone with something chasing her that would likely cause her to end up like the corpse on the table. My jaw clenched and my fingers curled into fists at the thought. I turned on my heel and headed for the door.

I was halfway down the hall when the elevator door dinged and opened. Butters and Det. Grisham stepped into the hallway chuckling. "So then I told him, 'I don't bring my work to your office do I?' and just walked away." At that they both burst out laughing… "The look on his face was priceless! It was one of those nights that you just can't tell anyone about but will never forget." Butters said almost bragging.

"So what are you guys talking about?" I asked in a irritated tone.

"We're just swapping war stories." Det. Grisham said in the friendliest tone I'd heard yet.

"Huh? Oh, noting important Harry." Butters said as he just noticed me in the hall.

"So any luck with the crystal ball?" Grisham asked in a low conspiratorial tone. I tried really hard to not roll my eyes with slight success.

"Yes," I said in a somewhat irritated voice at the silly stereotype. "and it's not good."

"Okay what does that mean?" the portly detective asked, now in his usual skeptical cop tone.

"It means that someone fairly powerful used a forbidden magic on these guys to suck the life out of them, literally." I explained.

"You can do that?" he asked giving me a surveying look.

"Technically yes, but using such magic comes with huge risks." I explained. "If the powers that be find out that you're even reading up on this sort of thing, much less practicing it, you tend to not have any future plans. Even if you don't get caught, if you screw up even a little, it's easy to kill yourself or worse. Dealing with the very essence and energy of a being's life is tricky business and it's just as easy to pull your own energy out of your body as it is to do it to someone else if you don't know what you're doing and this is advanced stuff."

"So you're saying they were sacrifices?" Butters asked confused.

"No, a sacrifice is an offering to a higher power in exchange for something, most often more power, knowledge or back in the old days a good harvest or a healthy baby. This was different. This was someone stripping the life energy from someone else's body forcibly, draining it until there was nothing left." I elaborated.

"That would explain what happened to the bodies." Butters said shaking his head. "But, why would they do that? What would they need so much energy for?"

"Honestly I don't know. I can only assume they are using it to build up their forces or saving it for something big. Whatever the case it's not going to be something good, these guys are the worst of the worst when it comes to warlocks. We need to find them and stop them before they have a chance to finish whatever they have planned." I said feeling my skin still crawling from having briefly touched the dark magic.

"What exactly are 'the powers that be' that you mentioned earlier? Can you notify them about what's going on to get more help?" Det. Grisham asked.

"I can't really go into that but yes, I can contact them and let them know what's going on but I'm not sure how much help they'll be. That and I'm not exactly their favorite person." I said with a weak smile.

"Imagine that…" Det. Grisham said with a slightly contemptuous look on his face.

"At least we know what we're dealing with now." Butters said looking no less stressed. "Harry, do you have any charms or something to protect against this guy? You know to keep him from draining us like a milk carton?"

"I don't keep things like that lying around the house, if that's what you're asking. But, I might be able to come up with something." I told him scratching my head. "You don't need to worry though, all that was left on the bodies was a slight residual magic and that can't hurt you, but to be safe I'll see if I can come up with something, just in case." I told butters thoughtfully. When I first met him I honestly didn't think too much of him. The small mousey man seemed to be little more that a victim of unfortunate circumstances. However, since I've come to know him my opinion of him has changed considerably. Although he has a healthy fear of the spooky stuff, I've also seen him step up and face those fears as well as vampires and ghouls when push came to shove. More than that he's shown he's a good man and he's been a good friend even if he is a little stand offish.

"I was thinking more of him than myself." Butters said glancing at Det. Grisham, who looked back with a stubborn scowl.

"I won't be needing any potions or talisman's. I don't believe in magic…" He grumbled looking skeptically at Butters.

"Tell me, will not believing in bullets do you any good against a .45 round officer?" Butters asked in an equally skeptical and stubborn voice. "If he has one, use it. Doctors orders." Butters said giving him a hard stare, that was somehow out of place on Butters face. The fact that it was out of place for him only made it have that much more impact.

"I suppose I could keep it in my pocket if you insist." Grisham said in a diplomatic tone, deciding it wasn't worth arguing over here and now.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me I have to be going. I have a pile of work waiting for me on my desk and spent half the day down here trying to figure out how to spin this one." Butters said shuddering thinking of the mountain of paperwork he had waiting for him when he got back to his office. He reached out his hand and shook Det. Grisham's , "It's been a pleasure meeting you."

"Likewise." Grisham said as Butters quickly turned and headed into the temporary office to gather his things.

"So where does that leave us?" Grisham asked.

"I have some things I need to look into and a few phone calls to make. I'll get back to you in a day or so. I'll see if I can get a line on who could pull of something like this and see if I can find out who's officially in town that might have something like this on their agenda." I told him patting my pocket. "For now I have two women waiting for me that I need to tend to." I said thinking of Lash and Simone.

"You do that. I can have some men sent to tail them, just in case these guys show up again. They'll never know they're there unless someone starts something." Grisham offered in an unexpectedly kind tone of voice.

"Thanks, but if something did happen I'd hate for them to get caught in the crossfire. That and Lash is a very capable woman, she can take care of herself." I said with a half smile.

"Last time it didn't turn out so well. If there is a next time, I'm sure they'll come better prepared. Given the child involved, even if she's capable a little unexpected help couldn't hurt. Worst case you can rest easier while you're out knowing they're being protected." He said with a look that could pass for concern on his weathered face.

I thought about what he had said and I honestly didn't think it was necessary. Then again I would have never thought that two thugs could put her in the hospital either. Then there was Simone, regardless of what she meant to the White Court she was an innocent. Simone was just a little girl caught up in a nightmare crafted by a monster who would gobble her up in an instant just to shut her up and make her go away. Although I respected and trusted Lash with my life and knew she was one of the most capable and strongest wizards alive, I still worried. I'd brushed offers like this off in the past whenever Murphy would offer, but this time it wasn't just my life and wellbeing on the line.

"Do what you think is best. Just make sure your men understand that if someone does come after them, they won't be common crooks. So they may want to carry heavier weapons than normal and wear their Kevlar." I said finally, reluctantly.

With that we parted and he headed to the elevator and I headed back up the stairs.

When I got to the main floor I found Lash and Simone waiting for me.

"That took longer than expected." Lash said, walking over to me from one of the small tables in front of the gift shop. Simone quickly followed behind her.

"Sorry, Butters was there and Grisham had a lot of questions." I said shaking my head.

"We saw Waldo a few minutes ago. I invited him to dinner but said he'd take a rain check." She said with a slight pout.

"Well Charity has already taken care of dinner so you aren't to lift a finger tonight. You need to get your rest and recover." I said stepping next to her and slipping my arm around her waist.

"She doesn't have to and it's not like I'm an invalid." Lash protested.

"You were hurt and now you need to stay in bed and rest! That's what the doctor said so you have to do it!" Simone piped up. "I'll be your nurse and help you."

"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful nurse. I guess I don't have a choice then. Two days of bed rest and only limited exercise for a few days after that." Lash said smiling and taking her hand as we headed for the exit.

"I'll give it a day at best." I said with a smirk. Lash replied with a quick jab of her elbow to my ribs. Nothing more was said on the matter.

Simone sat between us as the truck rumbled down the streets of Chicago. The trees and light posts slipping past as people hurried through the city, each one with their own set of worries and plans. None of them knew of the danger that had come to their city. They were oblivious to the terror and destruction he had in mind for them. Tearing them from their 9-5, normal lives and plunging them either into a living hell or an obedient oblivion.


	8. Chapter 8

Uncle Harry

Chapter 8

_**A/N:**__ Things have been hectic but I wanted to be sure to keep this rolling. I know I've taken a few extended breaks during this story and I'm sorry for that. I hope you'll bear with me and please enjoy he story._

We were greeted at the door by both Mister and Mouse before pushing our way into the bright and warm little house. Simone dutifully carried Lash's bags into her room while I escorted her to the couch.

I sat next to her and rubbed my eyes as the day's revelations and lack of sleep were catching up to me.

"You look tired… Harry, what happened?" Lash asked noticing the patchwork I'd done on the back door and the quarter sized holes around the door frame.

"It's nothing for you to worry about. I had some uninvited guests drop by. They were rather chatty with Thomas, so that was nice." I told her vaguely.

"I see. Simone must have been a bit shocked." Lash said, a shadow of concern brushing over her lovely face.

"She was a trooper. With a little training, she could have likely sent them packing by herself." I replied half joking.

"She does have a certain inner strength. I'd noticed that in her and find it quite appealing. Do you think Thomas would agree to let us train her?" Lash asked unexpectedly.

"I already have one apprentice and she's more that I can handle most times. That and Simone has her own life to lead and special challenges that magic might simply make harder." I told her honestly. "That and I don't sense the talent for magic in her. Not that I'm an expert at that sort of thing but I'd hate to get her hopes up and find that she reaches her full potential before she runs out of enthusiasm for the arts."

"I'm not so sure I'd agree with you there Mr. White Council Wizard." Lash said giving me a challenging smile, "I think that like Molly, Simone has a quiet flow of magic within her that runs deeper than you'd think." She said leaning a little closer to me. "That and she is adorable! Think of it Harry, having a child around the house, going to school and learning to play an instrument while learning to make potions and charms. I'd so love that Harry, and not with just any child. She's special, I feel something of a connection to her already and I'm afraid that if she were to leave us at the end of this case, we'd all be the worse off for it."

With that Lash wrapped her arms around me and snuggled close, her cheek resting against my chest. I put my arm around her and sighed. The prospect although new to me wasn't necessarily an unpleasant one to consider. I too felt the house livelier and brighter since she had arrived. I couldn't help but smile when she talked to me with her shy and innocent smile. I wasn't wrapped around her finger or anything, but I did have a soft spot for her. Then I thought about the mercenaries and 'monster' that was after her, such a small, frail and defenseless little girl.

It was about this time that Mouse plopped his ham sized head onto my thigh and looked up at me with a thoughtful look. He puffed a heavy sigh looking up at me as if to ask if this was really the best for her or just my own selfishness. It's at times like this I wonder what it would be like to have a normal pet…

"I understand how you feel and I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't thought the exact same thing." I told lash stroking her silky, golden hair. "Still, she's a person not a puppy. She has her own life and destiny to fulfill. I don't want to see her leave any more than you do but I think we both know that the right thing to do is to let her return to her normal life." I said softly not wanting little ears to overhear our conversation. "I think it's best, at least for the time being that we clear up this matter and let her go back to where she came from." Lash lifted her face to start at me with a look of surprise and anger and just as she was about to speak I hugged her close, "That doesn't mean we can't watch her from the sidelines and shadows. We can always have her over to visit on school breaks and long weekends if Lara and Thomas approve." I told her, clarifying my statement but not back peddling.

Lash puffed a breath against my chest before looking at me again. "Would that be enough for you, to watch from the sidelines and shadows?" She asked downheartedly.

"And to see her regularly… It's not that it's what I want, but it's what I think would be right. For now at least." I told her holding her close.

"Well it's not like we have to make a decision tonight and we'd need to have a long talk with Thomas and Lara before we even suggested it to Simone." Lash said thoughtfully.

"Suggested what?" Simone asked with a bright smile coming back from our room.

"What you really want to eat for dinner tonight?" I asked as Lash and I both looked up smiling warmly at her.

"Ooohh… I don't know about dinner but can we have another banana split for dessert Uncle Harry?" She asked already excited.

"Well, those are reserved for the Very Best of Good Girls. I don't make those for just anyone you know." I said with a scowl on my face. "Do you think you've been a good girl today?"

"She has and so have I!" Lash interjected. "See she put my bags away for me and kept me company while you ran off with the other boys, doing who knows what, at the hospital. So yes, I think we're both worthy of the Dresden special banana split!" Lash said scooping up the giggling Simone as she rushed over to us.

"I thinks so too Uncle Harry!" Simone squealed as Lash began tickling her.

"In that case… I suppose this once I can do it. Just don't get too used to having your way girls." I said in a stern voice with a half smile on my face. Still somewhere deep inside there was a part of me that winced at the thought of saying goodbye to the girl smiling so innocently and giggling about ice cream. I wanted to protect that innocence and even more I wanted to protect her. She wasn't a blood relative but she was already family.

….

The thick oak door creaked open slowly and the smell of decaying flesh and stale air mixed with the thick oily smoke from the braziers flowed around the portly man as he kneeled at the threshold of his master's room.

"You called for me my lord?" The man rasped with his head only inches from the ground.

The sound of cloth rustling and the slightly wheezing sound of breathing was all he heard for a moment as his master composed himself.

"Ah, yes Abram." the masters voice came in a somewhat harsh baritone voice. "I assume you've tied up all loose ends as I've requested?" The voice was no longer raspy or as scratchy as before and the words better enunciated. Abram assumed that meant that the rejuvenation process was proceeding nicely.

"As you know, we were unable to get the girl or dispatch Dresden or his girlfriend. However, all the men who were captured and not killed have been dealt with as you requested." Abram said in a clear but fear tinged voice.

"Ah yes Dresden and his associate. I'd hoped we could dispatch them before they become a problem. At this point they are already aware that someone is after the girl but they don't yet know who." The master said pulling the robes around him, the hood of the robe dropping farther over his face. "At this point let's see what their next move is. I don't want to confront him until I'm stronger, especially with that new blonde girl attached to his hip. Since the mercenaries were such a disappointment let's let them stew for a while, but be sure to keep a close eye on them. Let me know of their activities and if anything changes." The master said leaning back into the small island of pillows and cushions and putting the tip of the hookah into his mouth and taking a long draw of the spicy scented smoke.

"Yes my Lord, it shall be done." Abram groveled.

"One more thing, Dresden has an apprentice does he not?" The master asked meaningfully.

"I believe so sir."

"Have someone follow her as well… You never know she may be the leverage we need. However, don't approach her and don't get caught. Just watch her and make sure to note any routines." The master said blowing out the smoke as he spoke. "This may get interesting after all…"

….

With dinner finished and baths taken I was just setting out the Dresden special banana splits when the phone rang. Simone was eagerly sitting at the table as I slid the parfait dish filled with ice cream and bananas topped with caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, hot fudge then whipped cream and crushed nuts topped with a single red cherry.

Lash picked up the phone and then turned to me holding out the receiver. I set her dessert on the table and stepped into the living room to take the phone.

"It's Thomas." Lash said handing me the receiver before quickly heading into the kitchen to sit with Simone. They glanced at me then giggled and started eating.

"Harry, it's me." Thomas said in a hushed tone. "I wanted to let you know that Lara has pulled a few strings and she's gotten you a grounds keeper/janitor job at the Simone's school. I'm not sure how she did it but she said it was the only opening she could manage for you."

"Why is Lara trying to help me?" I asked confused.

"After giving it some thought Lara decided it was better to help you rather than have you trying to get in on your own and possibly cause a problem for her." He said, the sound of loud music down the hall nearly drowning out his voice.

"Why the hushed voice? Are you at the club?" I asked still a little befuddled.

"Lara and my other sisters are here, they are hosting some special guests. It's the favor she offered in exchange for getting you into the school with no questions asked." He said in a conspiratorial tone.

"Ah so when do I start?"

"Monday, oh and you'll need to stop by here before then as I have your ID card and other credentials you'll need to get into the school. Since the name Dresden has appeared in multiple news articles and police reports, you'll be going in as Mr. Draco." Thomas said in a serious tone.

"Mr. Draco? Seriously, Smith or Jones was taken? Even Potter would have been a better choice." I said with an annoyed sigh.

"It was Lara's idea and the deal was done before I heard about it." Thomas said apologetically.

"Fine I actually appreciate the help, things being what they are and all."

"I need to run but call me tomorrow and we'll talk more."

"Sounds good, thanks for the call." I said and then hung up.

Looking into the kitchen I saw my own dessert was drooping significantly and two women eyeing it with bad intent.


End file.
